Being open hearted
by BlueViking77
Summary: [GSR] Missing scene: Nesting Dolls and beyond. AU too. That's the summarize you get. Chapter 24 is now up. [Complete]
1. A home visit

**IMPORTANT NOTE: I suddenly noticed, that the first half of chapter 1, or so, was completly wrong in POV. It was written in 3rd POV, so I edited it to be only the view of Grissom's. I also corrected the title, from "Open hearted" to the correct title"Being open hearted". That was just that.  
**  
Just missing scenes from "Nesting Dolls".

Disclaimers: I do not own CSI butCBS does. So please CBS bosses, don't sue me for this. Please!

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**Being open hearted**

As I watch Sara cry, my heart officially breaks by the sight of her. I see no other choice, than to get onto my knees beside her chair, as I gently pulled at her hand. It was still securely wrapped into mine, and I then brought her intomy arms. She went reluctantly, I can feel at first, but before I know of it, she clings to me, as if her life depends on it. I just holds her tightly, stroks her hair and rocks her back and forth from side to side. She buries her head in my neck, her body shakes violently with each heart-breaking sob, that her thin frame lets out and just holds onto me for her dearest life.

My mind is racing. This is huge. This is very huge. Apparently Sara has chosen to trust me enough, to keep her life's secret safe with me. The fact that her mother had killed her father, after enduring years of abuse from him, and the fact that the then little 12-year-old Sara's life had changed in that instant. The fact that instead of being a normal preteen, she had been forced to grow up faster than she should. This beautiful wonderful Sara that I hold strong in my arms… No wonder she feel so strongly about wife abuse cases. I just hold her until she has stopped shaking, and the sobbing has graduated into small whimpers and sniffling. Her head is still buried in my neck. By now my knees is beginning to hurt, so I pulls her with me over to the couch, where I sit down and maneuvers her onto my lap. Ibrings her up, so that I can encircle all of her, and then just holds her close. But not before making sure, that she can hear my heartbeat, by placing her head gently, over the spot on my chest, where my heart is located. I proceeds to run my fingers through her silky brown hair. Some while later, after silence and small sniffling whimpers from Sara, the woman in question slowly lifts her head. She swipes at her eyes before she turns her head. I'm met with red puffy chocolate brown eyes.

She looks a little ashamed and unsure of what to do. There's still tear streaks on her cheeks, and by some strange thing, that face of hers, right there, is the most beautiful that I have ever seen in my life. I have never seen her like this. She totally vulnerable, and by looking her into her eyes, you can practically look right into the soul behind her eyes. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, as if she's not sure what to say now. And it appears that she's trying to come up with something to say.

"It's okay Sara." I tell her. "You don't have to apologize, be embarrassed or explain yourself further." I use my hand to dry off the remaining tears from her cheeks. "But I have to say this. I am so honored that you trusted me enough to tell me what you have just told me. It must have been so hard on you. I know that I haven't done much, lately, to even earn this enormous trust from you. And I'll tell you this. I am so very proud of you right now. I'm proud of knowing such a strong woman such as yourself."

She just looks at me wide eyed, as if she can't believe what I just said.

"You…" She then begins, biting her lower lip nervously. "You won't tell the others about this won't you?" She asks in a small voice.

"No I won't." I assure her. "You secret is safe with me. It's totally up to yourself to decide, when you feel strong, and secure enough, to tell them yourself."

"Thank you so much." She breathes a sigh of relief. She then buries her head in my neck again as she murmurs something, that I have to strain my ears to hear. "It means so much to me, that you wouldn't believe it."

"Don't mention it Sara." I tell her. "That's what friends are for, and I really need to start being your friend again." I kiss her softly on top of her head after saying that to her. "Now why don't you sit tight, while I make us some coffee? And then we need to really talk. Or more, I have a few things that I need to tell you about." I feel her nod of affirmation, and she moves reluctantly, I can tell, of my lap to sit on the couch.

I stand and move to the kitchen area. I hear her direct me to where her coffee stash, plus filters, is located in her kitchen. After starting a pot, I turn around to face her. She's sitting there, eyes fixed on me and wearing a tentative small smile. I send one back her way and her smile widens a bit: A very beautiful smile indeed.

Now we just need to have this talk, since I have so much on my chest to unload. And I really need that right about now.

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This is NOT the end of it. I have much more ideas for more to this story. Be patient for updates, since I'm busy at the moment, and have not much time to write. 

**I'd love rewievs.**


	2. Talks and confessions

I repost this chapter because of POV errors. I went through this chapter, and corrected them.

Disclaimers: See Chapter 1.

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**Chp. 2:**

While the coffee brewed, we maintained our eye contact and I relishing that I could be able to do it so freely. I felt very much content. But soon the coffee maker began to sputter and I had to turn back to it. I found, once again by directions set by Sara, two mugs and pouring coffee into them. After that I brought them down, where I handed one to Sara. I sat mine own down on the coffee table, before sitting myself, then I reached to take a sip of my coffee while Sara did herself. I took one more sip, trying to compose how to approach the matter in hand while doing so. I reached out to take Sara's hand in mine, and she scooted closer to me. Her eyes were still red and puffy, but she was thankfully not crying anymore. I have never been able to handle seeing the female gender cry, and now that the crying woman had been Sara, I had been on the verge myself, of crying as I watched her break down earlier.

"I meant what I said before Sara." It was said by way of continuo our earlier conversation. "You are the strongest woman I have ever met."

I take her hand in mine and squeeze it. I look into her eyes. They are still read and puffy, but now sans the tears, and there's no more tear streaks on her cheeks either. Those she dried off while I was brewing the coffee.

"I can describe just how appreciative I am, about you coming here, pushing me into telling you what was wrong. It was really threatening to destroy me." She starts after seeing her take a deep breath. "I was mad when you did the pushing, but now I think that it was the right choice of you. And I'm so sorry about that and me going off the handle in front of Catherine. I should really apologize to her for that."

"You should." I tell her. "But not before you are really ready to do it. I'll go tell her that I went to talk to you. She'll ask me if I know why, but I won't tell her. It's simply because as I told you before, I'll let it be up to you, whether or not you'll tell the guys. Or when you're ready yourself."

"I appreciate that Grissom." Sara told me with a hint of that bright smile of hers. "So what was it that you had on your mind?"

I looked down for a minute, just to collect my thoughts. Then I looked back up, found her hand and just held onto it.

"Remember when you came to my office, a few weeks ago, and asked me all of these questions of yours?" I ask her. "About why dropped everything to come here, helping me out with the Holly Gribbs case. About why you then moved out her, solemnly on my request." I She nodded in recognition to that. "After you left then, I had my own stuff to think about."

Her questions had indeed made me think about a lot of stuff. And that had led me to realize things in my thought process.

"The answers, or more questions, here is pretty simple Sara." I say to her looking into her eyes. "Why do think I called on you for clearing that Gribbs case? Why do think that I asked you to come work here?" It had become pretty clear, after my dense brain had sorted itself out while thinking; my mind had finally worked out the solution to her questions. Much to realize that the answer had been the ones to my somewhat buried desires, the desires, which I had had for the better part of almost fourteen years. Desires that was apparently returned by her, and I see the reaction to my questions in her eyes and nod. "Yes Sara." I nod. "It's because I loved you then and I still love you and I love you very much indeed." I squeeze her hand tenderly, and give her an affectionate smile. "And working around you again, made me happier than I had been for quite a while. So after the Gribbs case, I had to do something to keep you close to me, so that was why I asked you to transfer here. It was good for some time, and I loved the opportunity to flirt with you again. But along the way we went sour and, as you may think by my "no" to your invitation, it wasn't you who was the problem then. It was me who had a lot going on, and I was too proud to confide in anyone about it. And I really also knew what to do about us, but I was also scared at that time, because you mean so much to me. Which by the way, you have done for nearly fourteen years now." I admitted a bit shyly. Drawing in a deep breath, which broke my flow of non-stop talking, and Sara left to jump in with her piece of mind.

"You mean to tell me, that you've loved me for nearly fourteen years?" She asks me in a bit of a disbelief I can tell.

"Yes exactly Sara." I tell her. "I've been in love with you, ever since I laid eyes on you at that seminar."

"I've been in love with you, too, for the same amount of time." She says to me.

We sit there, letting everything settle in our respective minds, while staring into each other's eyes. Her eyes are almost back to normal, and her chocolate brown orbs are sparkling with a joy, I have not seen since she arrived in Las Vegas. I could easily stay put here, but suddenly I remember Ecklie and Catherine, and I realize, that I need to get back to CSI.

"Look, there's nothing that I'd rather do, than staying here." I say reluctantly. "But I have to get back to CSI to tell Ecklie, that I'm not going to fire you. I also have to order Catherine to back off, and not pressure you to tell her why it is, that you went off the handle with her." I stand up and she follows me as I walk to her door. "But I'll be back later, if that's okay with you? I have my story to tell you."

"Just come back later." She says to me. I surprise her, when I leaned in, and brushed my lips softly against hers. She's not prepared and I'm not either. Her lips are soft, and I'm left with tingling lips. That should do for now, because if I put more pressure in that kiss, I will definitely not be leaving anytime soon.

"I'll definitely come back." I assure her. I scoop a strand of soft brown hair behind her ear, before I open the door and leaves.

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**I hope that this was better. And there's of course more to come.**

**New reviews please.**


	3. After Ecklie and Catherine

Disclaimers: See chapter 1 as usual.

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**Chp. 3.**

I was back outside Sara's' front door, about two hours after I had left her, and not so many minutes after my standoff with both Ecklie and Catherine. The former had not been too pleased, well that was a giant understatement, given that I refused to fire Sara, so Ecklie had left non-too please, and Catherine and I had argued about my choice to let Sara stay. I think back.

"_So I gather that you went to talk to her, right?" Catherine had asked him._

"_I did go to talk to her." He could inform her._

"_So…?" She pressed for info._

"_So what? We had our talk." He said. "End of story."_

"_You know something, don't you? You know why she's acting the way she does, whenever these cases of abused women comes up." She asked him._

"_I do know why since she told me. But you will not hear it from me." Grissom said. "It was reason enough for me, not to even consider fire her. I said it's up to herself, when she's ready to tell the rest of you. Or if she ever wants to tell you." He gave her his most determined look as he put great weight behind his next words. "I mean it when I tell you to let this go. Please Catherine I beg you to let this go. If I as much gets words that you'd been after her, pressuring her into tell you her reasons, before she's ready, I'll never be able to forgive you. And I literally mean it, since I don't want to loose my best friend. You'll have to excuse me now. I'm going back to Sara's." With that he had turned on his heel and left a stunned speechless Catherine behind._

I knock at the door once again, and after a few seconds, the door swings open and reveals Sara. I take a look at her, and she seems so much more at peace with herself. She looks almost like the Sara who arrived in Vegas. Like the one who smiled shyly whenever I flirted with her back then. She now sports that smile, revealing the gap between her front teeth, the one I've missed seeing directed at me for a long time. I return it as she waves me inside. After once again taking seats on her couch, just in much closer proximity that earlier, I don't really know where to start my. The one I promised to tell her before leaving earlier. Well I have an idea of what to say, but it's the beginning that hard. So deciding just to start somewhere in the middle, I take her hand once again.

"I know how it is having a difficult childhood." I finally begin my story. "And I know how difficult your family situation, or more the parents situation, can be." I see a question in her eyes. The one who says 'How can that be?' I realize, by jumping into the middle of my story, I missed the valid backbone of it, so I decide to ask her a question. "You once wanted to know, where I had learned sign language?"

"Yes." She answers me.

"I learned it because my mother is deaf." I see her caught by surprise. "And my father left us because of it." I see the surprise in her eyes, being replaced by chock, then finally by concern and compassion for me. But before she had a chance to open her mouth to speak, I interrupt her by asking her yet another question. "What do you know about a decease called Otosclerosis?"

"Umm…" She looks puzzled, but I also see that the bright gears in her very clever head have started turning around up there. I see her gather all the info, I'm sure that she has, before opening her mouth to answer my question. "As far as I know, it's a hereditary ear decease, causing the person having it, to loose his or hers hearing slowly." She looks at me, as she connects the dots between my question and my mother's deafness. "That's what your mother has. Isn't it?"

"Yes." I answer her and pick up on my story. "She began loosing her hearing when I was five and it had completely vanished by the time I was six years old. My father couldn't handle having a nearly deaf wife so he left us. They divorced quickly thereafter. " I see her gears turning again.

"If it's hereditary," She begins. "That means…" She trails off, meaning that she have caught onto something.

"Yes Sara." I tell her. "It means that I inherited it too at birth. I started loosing a bit of hearing a year before the explosion in the lab. My hearing went up and down in periods of time. That was the reason I began to pull away, being closed up, why I stayed away from you and stopped the flirting. And most of all… That was why I said no to your invitation. I had so much going on at that given moment: The lab was blown almost pieces, I had Greg in hospital in poor condition and I had everyone high and mighty after me. On top of that, I had a pre op, for an ear operation, and the image of you so hurt on the curb to deal with." I see a mix of all the worlds' emotions flash over her face, as well as in her eyes. Suddenly she throws her arms around me and, holds me as tight as I held her earlier this day, as she cried her story out to me. The compassion of her arms and emotions engulfs me, and somehow I can't keep my own emotions in check anymore. I find myself break down, I bury my head in the nape of her neck and starts to sob. I also shake, like her, when I cry all my pent up buried pain out in her shoulder and let her body absorb all of it. I feel her hand in my hair, running it through it, and rock me back and forth as she whispers soft words into my ear, and words that I can thankfully hear, because of that operation a few years ago. After I have calmed down, I lift my head from her shoulder and dry my eyes. I bet my eyes are just as red and puffy as Sara's were, after she was done crying. After releasing me from her embrace, Sara helps me dry the tears that have been stuck to my damp beard.

"So I gather you had an operation back then?" She asks me. I just nod my yes to that question. "So are you all cured then?"

"Not wholly." I say. "There's still a chance for it to go down again, but I can hear nearly perfectly now."

"I'm so glad for that." Sara said to me.

We used the rest of the time, to just sit there, enjoying each others company, while talking about all and everything. But mostly about us, and the week Sara was facing on suspension. And how the next week was playing out for us. We agreed on taking it step by step, getting to reconnect again, and getting to know each other again. It was very late when Sara fell asleep, and I gently carried her to her bedroom. After tucking her in, I went to get a notepad from her desk in the living room. I sat down on her bedside, as I watched her sleep peacefully. I wrote a not to her, asking her to just call me whenever she woke up. I left it in plain sight, on her bedside table, for her to notice. After kissing her on her cheek, I left her to her slumber.

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**More to come I promise.**

**Reviews, reviews, reviews please.**


	4. Doing some halfway status

**Note:** This chaptergoes sort ofAU, since I've only watched until Nesting Dolls. They have their summer break from popular TV series on Danish TV. And since we're always half a season behind here,it'stherefore going AU.

**Disclaimers:** Once again see chapter 1. Albeit one unknown character, for CSI freaks,in this one is totally my own. You'll quickly know who.

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**Chp. 4.**

About week after our mutually confessions, I survey the state of my townhouse, one morning after returning home from a shift. At the front door, there is hanging a foreign coat, on the floor under it a pair of runner shoes and another pair is tossed haphazardly; a sweatshirt is tossed over a chair, a different laptop is sitting on my countertop, and there's a somewhat foreign smell in the air. All of that is belonging to a Sara Sidle, who is now sitting sprawled out on my couch, fresh from a sprint, sipping from a bottle of water, legs stretched out under my coffee table, hair in a mussed ponytail, rosy cheeks and trying to catch her breath after the run. She's still suspended, but she looks utterly comfortable, as if she have been in my house for ages and sitting on my couch no less. Well, she's only done it for a few days, since she's been staying at my place for nearly this whole week.

We have used all the time we could find together, to really get to know each other, and she also confided in me, of what really happened the night her mother had killed her father. I was shocked to learn, that she nearly saw the whole thing that night, since she had wanted to go downstairs to protect her mother, but had been held firmly back by her brother, whom I learned is named Gareth and is three years older than her. Her brother had apparently tried that approach, tried to intervene, but the black eye he had gotten then, had stopped him trying again. Her father had never been after his kids, in the abusive way, so that black eye had been a one-time mishap on her fathers' part. I had breathed a sigh of relief, when I heard that. I'm brought out of my musings, by the sigh from the direction of my couch.

"Gil?" Sara says from the couch.

Yes she calls me Gil, and Hell didn't freeze over as I thought it would. That she has been doing since I asked her to call me by my given name, after she came to stay with me. It was especially punctuated, after a passionate heated night that we had just a few nights ago. Yes we finally slept together, and it was heavenly, something that I have never experienced before. I had the night off, so we ate dinner and after events, we ended up making up, in my bed, for all the pent up desires that had been building up inside of us for so long. After the longest foreplay ever, and a long lasting slow lovemaking, Sara ended it with screaming my name, nearly on the top of her lungs, in her passion.

"Yes Sara." I say as I walk over to her.

"I'm ready to tell them." She informs me after a beat. Meaning that she's ready to tell the rest of the scattered 'team', about her troubled childhood.

"Are you sure?" I ask her in concern, because that's what I am. Concerned that she jumps into it too soon.

"I am." She says looking into my eyes and I take her hand in mine. "I used my run to clear my head and think it all over. I don't want to hide it from them anymore, and I'll only tell them what I told you, the day you came to my door. It's the least that I can do to ease their worries, and have Catherine understand my reasons, for acting that way I did."

Everyone had indeed been worried about her. Everyday I had one of them asking me, how she was, since she had avoided all contact with the rest of the scattered 'team'. I also know that Nicky, Greg and Warrick have been to her place, but given that she have been mostly at my house, they came up empty handed. When they asked me of her whereabouts, I had just said that she went to stay somewhere else, not a lie, since she indeed was somewhere else. That somewhere else just happened to be my townhouse. And Catherine had thankfully taken my strong advice to heart, about not trying to contact Sara, or pressuring her no less. Good. Catherine apparently didn't want to loose my friendship either. And Ecklie had only managed to be a little civil towards me. I hadn't given them any indication of that my relationship had changed dramatically with Sara. She was now my girlfriend, which still sounded very much foreign in my head, even if it didn't have to. I didn't care, since I finally had the woman of my dreams for nearly fourteen years, in my home, in my life and in my bed no less.

"Okay, if you say your ready, I'll trust you with that." I say to her. "So when were you thinking?"

"Tomorrow after the shift. That would also leave Catherine, Nicky and Warrick time to catch their shift." She tells me and I nod. "Can you also get Jim to come too? Maybe Al too" Jim Brass is the homicide detective who always belonged to our little group of CSI, even the fact that he's a cop. Al Robbins is the ME, who deals with the autopsies, and like Jim, he also belongs to our tight knitted little band.

"I'll try my best to get the both of them here." I answer her. "I'll let them all know tonight." Now it's her time to nod and we sit there for a while. Sara finishes her bottle of water in the process, and then she leans over and kisses me and gets up from the couch.

"I'm going to take a shower." She says and starts towards my bedroom. I am left to stare at her swaying behind and then she turns around with this wicked flirtatious smile, which makes my heart leap in my chest. "You coming?"

That I indeed do. I leap from my seat and darts after her. In my bedroom we both strip our clothes. Mine is my work clothes and she strips off her running clothes. Her body is the most perfect of all female bodies I have ever seen in my life, and I enjoy watching her undress to reveal a sweaty body underneath it all. On top of her body, she is almost nothing but two very long shapely legs. Once stripped down, she moves to the bathroom door, and I enjoy her movements. We're soon under the hot spray of water, and as we begin to soap each other up, it's evident that our hands roaming each other's bodies are quickly arousing us both. Soon after we have another lovemaking session, water runs down our bodies, as I have her trapped between the bathroom wall and myself. Later after finishing our bath, eating some breakfast, we lay entangled in my bed trying to fall asleep. I can tell that Sara is thinking hard about something; by the way she's so quiet. And that's not like her at all.

"What are you thinking about Honey?" I ask her, using the favored loving nickname, that I have taken up to be freely calling her. The one I called her for the first time, when she sat on the curb after the explosion. I cradle her in my arms, as I hear her sigh.

"I really miss Gareth. I miss my older brother." She tells me. "I wish that he was here right about now, since I really need him more than ever."

I can hardly argue with her there. He's her older brother, and shares that horribly past with her. She told me, that after both becoming adults, they sort of drifted apart. They still shares the tight bond only siblings can have, but they don't often see each other. He came to attend her high school graduation, when she graduated Harvard and a few other times after that and the last time was, just shortly before she came to Vegas and joined us there. They have been in contact via a few phone calls, though, but nothing more than that, and that she really don't know where he is at this moment, since his job as a demolition expert takes him around the country, and sometimes abroad. He had joined the army, at age eighteen, and had been trained in explosives.

"I know." I comfort her, already plotting how to find Gareth, and get him here without letting Sara know. I know she's already tried to find him, during this week, using her computer. But seeing that she can't use the databases, and resources, that CSI uses to locate people, she had no luck. But I can use the databases, and the resources, in my power of supervisor, so that I'm going to do, and I will find him. No matter how hard it'll going to be. After all I will do anything for the woman in my arms, so much I have figured in the past week. I could really have missed some things here. I kiss her softly on top of her head and repeat. "I know that Honey."

Soon we both drift into slumber.

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**Yes more to come I promise.**

**Reviewe please.**


	5. The plot thickens

**Disclaimers:** Theusual speech... See chp. 1. But I still own Gareth though.

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**Chp. 5.**

Yesterday night I arrived at CSI, a little earlier than I usually did, after I had spent a great day with Sara. I managed to catch Catherine in her office, just as she had been packing up.

"_Hey Catherine?" I say after I have knocked. She looks my way and smiles. This week have been a bit of a strainer regarding our friendship, but we're almost back to normal again I can tell by that smile._

"_Oh hey." She greets me. Then she looks puzzled. "You're here early, aren't you?"_

"_I am. But only because I needed to catch you before you left." I say to her. She looks at me in question. "Can you be at my place, say around 9 am tomorrow morning?" _

"_Sure." She answers me frowning. "Can I ask you why?"_

"_It's Sara. She wants to share something with all of you guys." I begin. "That will be Greg, Nicky, Warrick, Jim, Al and yourself. The good old team, if you can call it that." I see her gears work in her head, and then something clicks in her eyes. _

"_It's that thing she shared with you? The thing that I shouldn't pressure her into telling me?" She asks after cleverly discover why I need them there._

"_Yes it is." Answer her. "So can you make sure that Nicky and Warrick will both be there?"_

"_I will." She says. She walks around her desk and stops beside me. "There's something else?" She's one very good CSI, since she notices that "Right?"_

"_There is." I tell her. "But you'll know more tomorrow about that."_

"_That's good enough for me for now." Apparently she has learned a thing or two."See you tomorrow and have a good shift."_

"_I will." I say and she moves down the hallway, in direction of the locker room._

I then proceeded to call Jim, since I didn't know if, or when, we would be on any crime scenes together that shift. Jim told me that he'd be there, at 9 am sharp. Then I had to wait for Greg to come in, and then I asked him to show up too, which he said he would. As said Al when I asked him. So that leaves us all to be collected, in my living room, a little after 9 am. All of Sara's scattered stuff has been stuffed into my bedroom, so no one can detect before time, that she has been there, round the clock, for quite a few days now.

No one really knows what to say, as they sit around, waiting for something to happen. I glance at Sara, who is sitting on my couch and I look right into her eyes. I notice that her beautiful chocolate colored eyes, have a scared shade in them and I can tell that she's terrified at this moment. So I gather that the only option for me is, to walk over and sit down beside her. We agreed on, just before Nicky arrived as the first, that we'd tell them about us, about how and when we met and how long we'd actually known each other. I know that they have always speculated, and wondered about these things, but we have always brushed them all off. So I go to sit beside her. To ease it for her, I put my hand on her shoulder and squeeze it, as to tell her that she can do it and I put all of my love into that squeeze. I can feel her taking a deep breath under my hand, as her shoulder lifts, and I can tell that she ponders where to start.

"Okay." She finally says. "I am going to tell you all something, that I under no circumstances, what so ever, wants other than you to know. So in other words: They are not to leave this room after I have told you about it." Her voice had taken a stern tone to it. "I want you all to promise me that. And I want you to stay quiet until I'm done." After having received everybody's affirmation to that, and seeing the worried faces, she is quiet for a while.

"I know you can do it." I say quietly to her. That does the trick.

"Catherine?" She finally says and looks at the other woman in question.

"Yes Sara." Catherine says back. Sara the find a spot attached her eyes to that and let it stay there.

"You asked me, the day I blew up, why I have such a problem with wife abuse cases." Sara said and the older woman nodded. "And I wouldn't tell you." Another nod. "See, I have a somewhat first hand experience with wife abuse, and what can happened, if things get seriously out of hand."

I could see her become sad again. Without thinking, I reach out and take her hand in mine. I see the raised eyebrows, of the rest, my actions prompts.

"My father was a lot of things. Amongst being a husband, the father of my older brother Gareth and me, he was a lapse Hippie, B&B owner and a general good guy." That was how a daughter would speak about her father. She picks up again; tears instead of the proud one soon replace the 'I'm-always-be-my-daddy's-girl' gleam. "Sometimes my parents fought like any other parents would. The only difference here was, that when my father was angry with my mother, he couldn't just keep it at loud words. No he also used to get his point across by using his fists too." She stops at the gasp from the other in the room, and the tears in her eyes spills over, running down her cheeks, voice nearly cracking when she speaks again. "That went on for many years, but one day in March when I was twelve, my mother had had enough."

I tug at her hand and she let her eyes leave their spot. They find mine, and I use my eyes to send all my love, and my trust in her, through that bond. It seems to reassure her, that I'm here and will always be. I'm here to help her through it. So still holding my eyes, she finds the courage to say the last of what she has to say.

"That night, after my father had once again been hitting her, this time so bad that she almost couldn't stand up, she did something that forever would changed my life. My mother killed my father, by stabbing him to death with a knife." The walls once again breaks down and she starts to cry as I gather her into my arms, rocking her to the loud gasp's that emerges from the six other people in the room. I see the stunned faces, but no one says a word yet.

After a while she lifts her head and look at them again. "That is what I have been hiding from you all, and it's the reason why I never really tell anyone about my past. And mostly why I never really tell anyone about my childhood. But now you know. I wanted you to know about it, because you have become my surrogate family since my mother is in jail, my father dead. Then there is my brother. But he rarely stays the same place for long periods of time, since his job takes him around the country and in some occasions abroad, so I haven't seen him for over five years. I wanted you to know because of that." She is drying her eyes, while she says all of this. "Well one of you represents a lot of other things to me." She says looking at me and I affirm by a nod.

"I think that you all have been wondering when and where Sara and I met each other?" I say as I take over. That should give her time to get on top of things again. They all nod once again. "We, that's Sara and I, have also always been very closed up about that, but now after all of what have been happening, we decided to share this with you." I tell them. "And especially about one valid thing."

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**NOTE: **I'm not entirely sure about how this chapter turned out. And I'm a bit annoyed about the endind, but I couldn't milk it any furter.So please bare over with me if this one is a bit lame.

**Yes,yes,yes... More to come.**

**I appriciate reviews as always.**


	6. Dropping the bomb aka their story

Okay I FINALLY got this chapter typed up. I had all the worlds troubles with this one, but I finally got it down pat. Sorry about thewait people and enjoy.

Disclaimers: As always see chp 1.

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**Chp. 6**

"I went to Harvard for a forensics seminar in mid October, 1991." I was still holding Sara, in my arms, when I started on the part of 'our story'. "I didn't really know what to expect once there. I did expect the students to be bored and ask a lot of questions, which was born out of the said boredom. I wasn't disappointed, of my predictions, since everyone's questions, except for one young student's excellent ones, was just like that. That single student and her questions amazed me. She made me work on my answers. I wanted to know her name, I wanted to ask her about her name, but I never got around to it. And then I went back to California, but couldn't altogether forget about this female student, who made me work so hard on it. I was pretty amazed by her, as you can probably tell."

I look around and I see nods.

"About a year pass, still thinking about that one bright student. I hadn't been able to forget about I'm once again summoned to Harvard, to once again holding a similar seminar." I start again. "I expected the worst once again, until a hand shoots up, demanding attention. When see the person the hand belongs to, I am once again faced with this student, whom I now pay more attention to, as well as promise myself to catch her after that seminar. Turns out that I don't have to catch her myself, since she stays put in her seat when everyone else files out of the auditorium. She just sits there patiently as questions surprisingly assaults me; other attendances have stayed behind to ask me. So after they're done and have left, she rose from her seat and approached me. She introduced herself as Sara Sidle, and then began to ask questions. Very fast one thing lead to the other, and we ended up getting coffee as we talked, and learned a few things then."

"Like the fact that I also wanted to talk to him that year earlier." Sara was now composed enough to take over for a while. "But since it was the beginning of the semester, I really didn't have time to stay back and chat then. I was extremely busy, and before I knew it he was gone again. I wasn't able to forget about him and his brilliant lecture either, so a year after I saw his name on a list for an upcoming seminar, I couldn't help to jump at the chance and I signed up for it. So after his lecture I stayed put, and as Griss said, I introduced myself to him, and we had coffee and talked about stuff." I look at her and send her a smile that she returns.

"I learned that Sara had just turned 21 under a month earlier, that surprised me a bit, since she had a wit as sharp as the edge of a knife." I recall as I picks up from where Sara ended. "It was so much beyond her age and I really admired that in her."

"We kept on meeting up all the while he was there, and as our coffee drinking outings went by, we found that we became friends." Sara begins again. "But eventually he had to go back to California. But we stayed in touch by using the phone and writing letters." She pauses. "The time went by and I graduated Harvard and I then went to San Francisco, where I met up with him and settled down there. By that time I was very interested in becoming a CSI, after listening to Griss here rambling on about it. So with the help from him, I enrolled Berkley, and took the classes there, so I could be fully equipped in the act of becoming a CSI. Griss also took me under his wings and he became my mentor." She sends me a smile that warms me.

"So after she was done with all of her classes, I recommended her the San Francisco crime lab." I am now taking over again. "She solved her first solo case and that to the absolute perfection, so she then became a full time CSI." I say proudly and look fondly at her.

"Shortly after that, he got the job here in Las Vegas, and had to move here of course." Sara turn again to take over the story. "So while I did my job in San Francisco, he settled into his new job as a CSI here, all while pulling the lab up from, literally, the bottom of the rank list to becoming the # 2 lab in the country." A look of absolutely pride adorns her face as she trails off. And I know, that this face is aimed at me.

"We still kept contact, and I managed to drive to San Francisco every other month, so I could see Sara." I say and then look over at Catherine. "Yes Catherine. Those trips were the reason, as to why I disappeared for whole weekends at times, these every other month." I explain to her, and she nods as Sara takes over once again.

"The years passed by, and suddenly Griss called me for urgent help." She says. "He needed an outsider to come help him on a matter, and you all know what happened after that." She says referring to Warrick and Holly Gribbs." Then Grissom come to me, at my hotel, to offer me a job here." She smiles. "And obviously I accepted since I'm here now."

"We were extremely happy to be able to be around one another again. Albeit that we never mentioned that to each other." I take over again. "We went into the old pattern, with the likes of sharing inside jokes and just enjoyed talking again. We were happy then. But it all went wrong, because of one simple thing."

"Yeah." Sara pipes up beside me.

"While we say we were talking, we never delved into one of the simplest things." I say again. "We actually never really talked about us. Meaning that all we ever talked about was our jobs and everything related to it. We're both very private persons, with each of our painful pasts, so our private life never became the subjects, because of that reason. And somehow over the years here, our friendship took a wrong turn, down the sour route, and we didn't really know the reason to that."

"But deep down inside, we really knew what the problem were, but we were too stubborn to acknowledge it." Sara says as she takes over. "This one made us avoid each other, since we mutually knew where it all came from. We just wanted to avoid the main reason, since we were both somehow scared of that one. That made us both miserable. But after the past weeks events, we decided to finally face it, and look it into it's eyes."

I take a look at everybody in the room. I can see that they are bursting to ask what, mostly Catherine, but they kindly holds their tongues, awaiting us to tell them about it. I look at Sara, my love, and she's biting her lip of nervousness. I take her hand in mine and hold her gaze.

"We were scared of each other, because of the way that we made each other feel." I say.

"Namely the feel of love." Sara says softly and squeezes my hand. "We've were scared of each other, simply by the mere fact that we love each other. We have loved each other since we saw one another on that first seminar." She looks at the other, who's now wearing astonished face expressions. "Yes it sounds crazy, we know, but that the facts."

"We have been in love with each other, for close to fourteen years, but didn't know how to handle it." I say. "Even if we knew about the mutually attraction, we buried it so deep inside of ourselves, that it threatened to get us both. But the day that Sara was suspended, I knew that I had to find the courage to tell her, about how I feel about her."

There's still a silence in the room, as everyone takes in the news.

"Well, Gil and I," Sara then begins with the use of my given names nickname, and that cause everyone to gasp of surprise, causing her to stifle a small chuckle I can tell. "Oh come on you guys. We're together so I'm calling him Gil." She says point-blank. "I know that you Nicky, Warrick and Greg, have tried to find me at my place and Gil told you all that I was away." There was affirmative nodding from the boys. "Well I have been away sort of, since I've been staying here for most of this week because I really didn't want to be alone. So we've been having some really long talks these days, used them to clear up a lot of things, which have been happening after I came to Vegas."

"Now were good. We finally have each other after years of agony." I admit. Sara looks at me and I look into her eyes, her beautiful wonderful chocolate brown orbs, and I almost get lost in them. Not really caring that there are six other people in the room also, and they're not used to my showing affections in public, but I really don't care right now, I raise my hand to her left cheek. Touching it much the way she did, long way back claiming that she wiped off chalk from MY left cheek. I then put a finger under her chin, and I lean in and give her a soft kiss on her lips, much to her surprise, and say as the truth is in front of everyone. "I love you, Sara Sidle. I always have and I always will."

"I love you too Gil Grissom." Says Sara. "And I will always love you too." She tells me.

I hear different variations of "aww" flowing through the air, and when I turn my head, and Sara does the same, she and I see everyone's jaws hanging open of astonishment and wearing ditto looks on their faces. And I notice that Catherine's eyes are shining, bearing unshed tears.

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**So that was that chapter. More to come...**

**Reviews please.**


	7. Enlisting help

**Okay, here's another chapter.**

**Disclaimers: Inchapter 1. as usual.**

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**Chp. 7.**

When the boys, along with Al, all crowded around Sara, wanting to offer hugs, I manage to pull Catherine and Jim over in a quiet corner, without Sara noticing anything. I need to enlist some help in finding Gareth, since I doubt that I can find him all by myself. Who knew where in the world he was, right now?

"So, what's up Gil?" Asked the always-perceptive one of us all. Cath is scary that way, since she knows me so well, that she can see something is up, only because of by my facial expressions.

"I need both of your help on a matter." I answer her. "I need help to find Sara's brother, and I doubt that I can do that on my own." I go on. "I have gotten a small amount of information out of Sara about Gareth, so that should be a start. She has tried to find him herself though, but without the useful CSI resources, she has failed to come even close." I look at Jim and Catherine after turn. "I want to surprise her, because she has told me that she really miss him, and needs him the most right now no less. So I hope that I can count on you, for any help to find him?"

"I'm in." Jim says and smiles at me. "Anything for that girl over there." I know that Jim looks at Sara like a daughter, and will do anything for her, so I'm not surprised about his willingness to help.

"You really love her, don't you?" Catherine asks me after looking me over carefully. There's a sense of wonder and amazement in her eyes.

"Yes." I say quietly as my eyes roam over Sara, just as she's in the middle of hugging Al. Keeping my eye on her I add. "I have never in my life felt this way about any other woman. How I feel about Sara, takes my breath away, and she's the absolute love of my life." I say without a second thought, and those admissions take me by surprise, once they catch up with my brain. I never use to utter such things in public. Not even in front of Cath and Jim, even if they are my closest friends. I feel myself flush but I just ignore it. I can see that my frank admissions have caught Cath and Jim off guard, due to their stunned facial expressions.

"I'll do anything to help you out." Cath says once she has shaken herself out of her stupor. She hugs me, looks me into my eyes and says, "I can see how happy you are, and I can't even express to you how happy I am. For the both of you."

When she has released me, Jim shakes my hand and has this certain look in his eyes. One that I can't miss, which clearly says, "If you ever hurt that girl, you'll have me to answer to." I nod in affirmation.

"Gil?" I hear Sara call from where she's sitting. "What are you doing over there?"

"Nothing." I lie. "Simply just a chat about work." It's a white lie out of desperation, since she doesn't have to know what I'm, or rather we, is plotting to do. I send her one of my dazzling smiles; in the hope of that she won't pursue the matter further. And she doesn't, to my great relief, since she only smiles back.

Before long everyone has to leave. Jim and Al will be heading home to bed, while Cath, Nicky and Warrick will be heading to CSI, to start their shift. Before we, Sara and I, sends them on their way, they all promise not to tell Ecklie about our relationship, saying that they don't want to give "the bastard" the satisfaction of knowing. I hear Sara and Cath pencil in some time for some much overdue and much needed "girl talk". I can't help but gulp, when I think of where that can lead. But on the other hand, I figure that they need to talk, so I give my worries a rest. After closing the front door behind our friends, we're laying naked in my bed, in the space of only 30 minutes.

"That went rather well Honey. Don't you think?" I asks Sara, who is now propped up on her chin on my chest, so we can have an amount of eye contact. Her right leg is sandwiched between mine, so she lays half on top of me. My left hand is entangling her silky brown strands and my right hand is lazily caressing her naked back.

"Yes it did." She agrees with me. Her right arm is slung over my chest and she's brushing my beard softly. The other hand is used to support her head.

She removes her hand from my beard, and starts to run lazy circles on my chest. I watch her fingers progress down my chest, to make a few rounds around my nipple and then on it's path to my navel. She gives it a gentle kiss before she comes up and kisses me lovingly on my lips. As I wrap both my arms around her naked form, she crawls fully on top of me, so we're now in full body contact. A good deal of making out happens, getting more and more aroused. I flip her over on her back and she moans softly as I place my hand between her legs. Playing a little with her, and she moans of pleasure. I have to close my eyes tightly, as she wraps her delicate hand around me, so I don't let go already there. She can drive me crazy; sometimes; just by the way she touches me while we're having sex. No I will not call it sex, since it's way below Sara's standard, so I will call it making love. No woman has made me feel that way, only by the mere act of making love. I suppose that is because I'm finally with my destined soul mate, the one that I have loved for close to fourteen years. Every move, while making love to this woman is special, and as I finally slide my length inside of her, I have to really struggle to not let go, too early, once again. As we begin to move together, in perfect sync, I can't help but marvel about the woman, who's now sitting on top of me, with a hand on each side of my head to steady herself.

She's so beautiful. Her hair, which is hanging loosely around her head, tickles my face lightly and she has a look of pure bliss on her face, as our eyes are locked together. Moaning is filling my bedroom, as we're riding the path to our climaxes. I feel a familiar tightening of a coming orgasm, and I can tell that Sara is nowhere near yet, and I want her to come with me. I remove my right hand from her hip, and with one firm pressure on her swollen taut nub at her very center, I feel her shake. She comes only seconds later, and I'm right behind her. Sara collapses on top of me, and I resume to just hold her tight, as our chests rise and fall in tandem When we have both cached our breaths, I kiss her lovingly, and after Sara have slide off to a side me a bit, we drift off to an exhausted sleep and still wrapped around each other.

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**Just a little somewhat "filler" chapter, so I could get a closure oneverything fromchapter 6. The fun begins in chapter 8, which will be written in, I believe, a short while.**

**Press the little button below, and drop me a review.**


	8. Sara without the 'h'

**I'm somewhat on a roll, so a new in a very short while.**

**Disclaimers: Always in chapter 1.**

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**Chp. 8.**

A few weeks after Sara's back at work again and everything is going more than great between us. Sara and Cath had their "girl talk", only a few days after we told the gang. Apparently they had every kink between them combed out, so now they're best friends. She tries to stay out of Ecklie's way, since she doesn't need him on her back again. Ecklie, on the other hand, only glowers in her direction, whenever he sees her n the lab. And I can't help feeling proud of her, while watching her through the glass wall that separates the Trace lab and the hallway. She's goofing around with Greg, and has the time of her life.

I have also been busy. Very busy indeed, since Cath, Jim and I have been trying to find Gareth. It's not an easy task, since we keep being directed from place to place. Apparently this Gareth Sidle is one of the best demolitions experts, so he's one of the most asked for in his field of work. I walk back to my office, after sending Sara an admiring look, to attack some boring paperwork. A few minutes I hear a knock on the doorframe, and look up to see Jim there, waving a piece of paper in the air.

"I got him!" He says lowering his voice as he comes into my office. Smiling all the way.

"You did?" I ask him surprised as he hands me the piece of paper. It's an email and it provides the whereabouts of one Gareth Sidle. It looks to me, that he is somewhere in Alaska, it doesn't say where, but the author of the email says, that the provided phone number is the direct line to where he is. That is if the one looking for Mr. Sidle, call right away since he can be gone tomorrow. I look back at Jim for an explanation.

"I found the demolition company, for whom he works for, and called them right away." He explains. "I was re-directed to his boss, who told me, that the context in the email, was the only info he would allow to be given away. But that he would have his secretary emailing me the exact details of how to find him." He says. "So there they are."

"Thanks Jim." I say in gratitude. "I can't say how much I appreciate your help with this."

"Don't mention it buddy." He tells me. "That girl is like a daughter to me, so you don't have to thank me." He starts to leave. "Just get on the phone and get a hold of this Gareth, before it's too late again." I nod. He's almost out of the door, when I'm reminded of something.

"Oh hey, Jim?" I call to him and he turns around. "Could you let Cath know, that you found out where to find him, so she doesn't keep trying?"

"Will do." He says with a smile. With a, "See you later Gil." He is off again.

'Better get a hold of Gareth, before he is gone again.' I think and grab the phone.

Three days after:

I'm standing at the airport, waiting for Gareth to arrive from Alaska. I had told him about a little about Sara, and about the two rather rough years, that she had been through. That info made him rather worried and when I told him about how she missed him, and was in desperately need of him he assured me, that he'd go get some time off, so he could come visit her. Before hanging up, he got my cell phone number, with the promise of calling me about when he would be there. That leads to me, standing here now, waiting for him. The only chance for a flight was on the red eye, given that he had to finish up and brief his team about why he had to leave mid job. I also had to leave during shift to be here, but anything for Sara. Of course she asked why I had to leave during shift. I had to give a little white lie, before sending her out in the field, way out of town with Greg in tow. When the passengers from Gareths plane, starts to file out I don't have to seek long, since he looks so much like his sister. I make my way over to him.

"Excuse me, but are you Gareth Sidle?" I ask him just to be sure.

"Yes I'm he." He says. "You must be Sara's friend Mr. Grissom?"

"Yes I am." I tell him as we shake hands. I've only informed him, that Sara and I are friends, since I'll let Sara tell her brother about us being together, and that I wanted to surprise her. "Please call me Grissom."

"Grissom it is." He says. "Then you might as well call me Gareth." I nod.

I look him over. As I said, he looks so much like Sara. They share the same high cheekbones, the eye shape and color too, as well as the shape of the mouth. He is my height and his body shows signs of hard and heavy work.

"I'm so glad you called me about Sara." He informs me as we heads for his luggage. "I also miss her, terribly, but with me running around all the time, I never has a chance to come see her. And it was almost impossible for me to get the time off, but I was persistent, saying that I had a sister who needs me at this moment. I told my boss, that I would stay as long as Sara would have me here." He tells me and looks at me. "You wouldn't happen to know about our childhood, would you?"

"I know." I answer him. "She had a rough case, that led to a breakdown, so she told me."

"That's good." He says. "I know she wants to keep it a secret, but I'm glad she confided in you." We had now claimed his luggage and were heading for my CSI issued car. "So where are we heading now?"

"I figured the lab. We can surprise Sara there." I say as we begin to load Gareths stuff into the cars backseat.

After entering the car, I start the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot. I navigate the early morning traffic of Las Vegas, all while I tell Gareth about what I do. I tell him that I'm one of the only 15 entomologists in the country, and what it is exactly that I do, whenever I need to figure out when, and where, a bug infested corps comes from or it's time of death.

"So you can actually tell, when a person is dead? Also where the person is dead, if he or she has been moved?" Gareth asks me. I nod as a yes. "And all that just from looking at some bug?"

"Yes to all of that." I answer him. "It's a very complicated field, and not many people understand what I do, but I don't blame them either."

"So does Sara understand anything of this?" He asks me.

"To some extent." I say. "As I said it's complicated, but as smart as she is, she just don't have the tools to understand it."

"Sara is smart." Gareth says with a huge amount of pride in his voice. "I don't know what she would have done, if she hadn't got that scholar ship, so she could leave for Harvard. It wasn't exactly a joy, for her, being bounced from foster home to foster home, because every time she missed some time in school. And I know that school, and school work was her sanctuary, and something she knew she was one of the best in."

We drive in silence for a while.

"So, your Sara's friend?" Gareth asks me.

"I'm one of her best friends but I'm also her Boss." I tell him just as we enter the parking lot in front of the lab, and I park the car in my parking spot. "Here we are." I say as I turn off the ignition and I spy for Sara's car, making sure she's not in yet, before getting out. "Good, she's not back yet. I didn't expect so, since I send her out of town tonight. Just leave your stuff out here." I say to Gareth and we head inside.

We are met with the usual buzz of activities, which comes with a busy shift. I get Gareth a visitor badge and then lead the way to my office; I motion for Gareth, who's looking nosily around my office, to take a seat. Just as I'm about to open my mouth, my cell phone starts up.

"Grissom." I say as my usual way of answering my phone. I can literally feel my insides light up, as I hear Sara's voice pouring into my ear. "Hey Sara." I see Gareth perk up by the name. She tells me that she and Greg is on their way back, and there were nothing peculiar to the case, so David would just bring the body in for autopsy. Just to be absolutely sure, that there's no foul play. I tell her okay, and tell her to stop by my office, once they're back. Once she agrees we hang up. "That was Sara." I inform Gareth.

"I heard." He says. "So she's on her way back, I understand?"

"Yes, she and our somewhat newest CSI, Greg, are on their way back." I inform him. "Said that they was only 30 minutes out." I said then smiled a bit sheepishly. "She's going to kill me."

"Why?" I see Gareth frown.

"This case led almost nowhere, or the body found held no secrets at all and she hates these type of cases." I explain. "She hates that a case like the one she has left, takes her time away from doing more constructive lab work here. But I had to get her out of her tonight, so you could be sneaked in." I say and then says horrified, also playful, "The scary is that she knows how to hide my body, and knows how to cover her traces, so she won't be found out."

"That sounds exactly like my little sister." Gareth laughs. "She's always been like that, even as a small child."

We use the time for small talk, and Gareth says hello to my tarantula. He's snooping around, admires all of my butterflies, when I hear Sara's voice floating down the hall. She's calling for Greg to deliver the small amount of evidence, to all the right lab techs. And I hear Greg shout back, that he'll do just that.

"She's here." I tell Gareth who's standing in the back of the office, where he's been studying my jar of pickled piglet with wonder painted all over his face. He's standing so you can't see him from outside the office. "Stay there." I order him and he nods okay. I pretend to do paperwork, keeping my eyes glued to the desk.

"Knock, knock." I hear and look up to see Sara at the door. She looks a bit pissed, but thankfully now where near to blow. I motion for her to come all inside, and she moves to stand in front of my desk. I just look at her and smile all the while.

"What?" She asks me, and then Gareth speaks up.

"Well, if it isn't little Sara with out the 'h'?" He says by way of greeting. Making me wonder what that means. "Hi princess."

By these words I see Sara stiffen. I start to think that Gareth used to say that to her, all the time, by the way she is reacting. She only stars at me mouthing, "no you didn't?" then turns slowly around to face the voice. When she and Gareth makes eye contact, she just stands still for a moment, apparently only to grasp, that she's looking at her brother, for the very first time in over five years. Then a high-pitched squeal, rip's through the office and pounces on her brother.

"But you got the 'h' instead." She says and jumps into the awaiting arms of her brother. "My knight in shining armor."

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**Notes:  
**  
**Sara**means "princess" or "lady" in Hebrew. So therefore the "princess" comment.  
**  
Gareth** was in laterArthurian legends a knight of the Round Table, and the brother of Sir Gawain. So therefore the "knight in shining armor" comment.

**I'll explain the (without/with the 'h') commentsin next chaper.**

**So what do you think?**


	9. Explainations and a Heavenly blend

**So yet another chapter.**

**Disclaimers: Chapter 1. please**.

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**Chp. 9.**

Sara throws her arms around Gareths neck, and he just put his around his upper body. Then I watch as brother and sister cling to each other, with a very happy heart, albeit that Sara is now sobbing into the neck of Gareth, but thankfully the tears is now of pure joy. They rock back and forth as they babble to each other. I can quite catch the words, since they're muffled. After a long time they release one another, but they still keep their arms around each other. They are studying each other's faces, as if getting to know the faces of each other again.

"I can't believe that you're here, older brother." Sara says with amazement after a while. She still looks like she's in shock.

"But I am princess." Gareth says to her and they shares huge smiles.

"What are you doing here?" She asks him bewildered I can tell.

"Why don't you ask your friend Grissom over there?" Answers Gareth and look over her shoulder at me. She turns around, in her brothers' arms, and looks in surprise at me.

"You did this?" She asks me softly. Her eyes is sparkling and there's love in them too. I only nod. "But how? Why? When?" She fires questions at me and I hold up my hand to stop her firing at me.

"As for answering the why… You told me that you missed him and needed him." I start. "As for the other things… I had Cath and Jim helping me out in finding him, by using the few details I had gotten out of you." I say.

"Thank you so much." She says, moves out of her brothers arms and over to me. She throws her arms around me. I snake my arms around her, and pulls her into me.

"You are welcome." I tell her. I then whisper into her ear: "I did it only because I love you. And I haven't to Gareth about us being together, since I thought I'd leave that to you. I've only said that we're friends." I look over at Gareth, and he watches us with interests as Sara moves back. She nods at me and then addresses her brother.

"Gareth." She says. "I have something to tell you." She says holding her hand out to her brother, which he takes and allows himself to be pulled over by his sister. "I know that Grissom told you we're friends, but we're much more than that." She says. I see Gareth study her and her eyes, gears turning in his head, until the proverbial light bulb is switched on, and has obviously connected the dots.

"You mean…?" He asks.

"Yes big brother." She answers him and takes my hand in hers. "We are together." She sends me a smoldering smile that I return. "I'll tell you the very long story, about how that happened later." She says just as Greg pops his head into my office. He is about to say something, when he spots Gareth. Sara waves him in and places a hand on his shoulder. "Greg, this is my brother Gareth." She says in an introducing mode. "Gareth, meet Greg Sanders, former lab rat turned CSI recently, and not to forget: The resident little brother." She says as a good-naturedly way of teasing Greg, who mocks injure, by the time she spouts the "little brother" comment. He furthermore slaps her lightly, and playfully, on the hand located on his shoulder.

"Hey!" He quips but smiles all the way. He then turns his attention to Gareth. "It's nice to meet you." Holding his hand out to him, Greg waits for Gareth to grab it.

"You too." Gareth says while they shake hands.

"I just came to tell you, that I delivered the evidence to the right lab techs." He informs Sara, who nods as an approval. He then turns on his heel and leaves the office, closing the door behind him.

There's a silence for a while, where I can feel Gareths probing eyes on me. I feel rather self-concius, right now, since I really want Gareth to approve of my relationship with his sister, who's dating her boss. Her much older boss nonetheless and Gareths her only family. Sure there's their mother, Laura, but she can't really have any say in this, since she's jailed for life. So nowadays, it's his responsibility, as the older brother, to be the guard of his sisters heart, making sure that no one breaks it and hurts her more than she already have.

"So you two are dating?" Gareth finally asks us.

"Yes." Sara answers him with a big smile. "Yes we are dating. We've only been together for about three weeks, but there a lot more to this thing as I told you before." She tells him. "It's a secret around here that we're together, since the fraternization between boss and employee is frowned upon. The team knows about us, but that's also about it." Gareth nods and pulls her into a tight hug again, and I watch them, until they pull back again. Gareth once again studies her.

"You look great." He tells her; then he seems to remember something. "Where did all of your curls go?" He touches a strand of her hair.

That's right I can't help thinking. One day she had gorgeous curls all over her head, the next day they were all gone. Where did they go?

"Well, I decided that I was tired of them." She says. "So I began to straightening it every day."

"Well, you should start wearing you hair all natural again." Gareth says.

"You really should." I say. "They make's you look absolutely beautiful." I say to her and she blushes as she sends me her only-issued-for-me smile.

"Thanks Gil." She says and dares to kiss me lightly in front of her brother, who only looks at us both with a smile.

"I don't know about you, but I could do with a cup of coffee." I say. "So why don't we head for the break room to grab one?"

"That sounds good to me." Answers Sara and looks at her brother. "You still drink coffee right?"

"I do still drink coffee." He answers her.

"Then lets go." She says excited. She grabs a snickering Gareths hand, and drags him after her toward the office door. "You coming Gil?"

"Yes. Yes I'm coming Honey." I say as she pulls the door open.

One our way to the break room, we tell Gareth about what we pass by. We waves at Archie as we pass his lab, and he waves back to us. Reaching the break room, we see Greg inside, in the middle of starting a new pot of coffee, which can only mean one thing.

"Hey!" He greets us as we enter. "I was just starting a new pot of coffee."

"We can see that." Sara says as Greg packs away a bag of coffee beans. "Hey is that your Hawaiian blend?"

"It's is." Greg says smiling.

"You won't believe how great that coffee tastes." Sara says excited to Gareth. "You'd think you'd died and gone to the big man upstairs, that's how great it is."

I can't help but smile of the affect that her brothers' presents have done to her. She's so excited and upbeat, that she so much more adorable right now. When Greg goes and put his coffee beans back into his locker, we three moves to the couch. I suddenly remember the comments about the 'h', and I just have to know.

"What was it with these comments about the letter 'h'?" I ask.

Brother and sister looks at each other, then burst out laughing.

"It's just inside jokes." Sara begins to explain. "All the while growing up, people would constantly assume that Sara is spelled as S-A-R-A-H. And everyone would always assume that Gareth was spelled as G-A-R-R-E-T." She says.

"And we were constantly correcting them." Gareth takes over. "So we had our standard responses, whenever someone misspelled our names. Sara's was: 'it's Sara without the 'h'. Mine was: 'my name is with an 'h' in the end.' I would then precede to spell it out correctly to whoever it was."

"Well that explains it." I say just as Greg comes back and heads for the coffee maker, which had begun the sputtering, announcing that the coffee is almost done brewing.

In the mean time, Greg gets four mugs out of the cupboard above the coffee maker and lines them up, so they're ready for the coffee. Once the sputtering has died out, he pours the coffee and brings the filled mugs over to us. I look as Gareth takes his first sip, and I almost see the stars in his eyes, when he has the liquid in his mouth.

"It's good, right?" I ask him.

"It's heavenly." Gareth says in amazement, causing both his sister and the resident "little brother" to laugh at him. He just smiles at them and takes another sip.

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**Nothing to note here for once.**

**I always like good reviews.**


	10. Changing POV

**NOTE: Forgive me endlesslyfor changing POV in this chapter, but I need for Sara to continue this story right now. So this chapter is devoted to Sara, and her POV of some things happening.**

**Disclaimers: As always see chapter 1.**

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**Chp. 10.**

After Gil has drained his coffee mug, and Greg has gone back to check up on the lab techs, Gil tells me to take Gareth on the grand tour of the lab. Before he leaves me alone with my brother, he gives me that smile of his, which always seems to melt me. How I love that smile, and I marvel once again, about these last weeks, and how my life has changed dramatically.

I have never been happier than I am now. Sometimes I just want to do the cartwheels, proclaiming how much I love Gil out loud to the whole lab. And that's only because I finally have the man of my desires, in my life, after nearly 14 years of being in love with him. Furthermore he accepted me, for just who I am, and what I was trying to hide about my childhood, after I told him about my deep dark secret. Telling me that he's had the same burning feelings for me, for the same amount of years as I have had them for him, I didn't think he could make me happier but evidently he could, since he went about the troubles and found my brother, and then bringing him here. On only the sole reason, that I missed him and needed him. I couldn't love Gil more.

I'm nervous as to what Gareth has to say about my, being in a relationship with my boss, now that Gil is so much older than me. It's not that I think about age here, since guys my age, no longer held a candle to Gil after I met him. I suddenly felt them too immature, only thinking about partying, getting drunk and have one nightstand after the other and never really thinking about their education. Gil was 35 when I saw him at that first seminar and 36 the year after. He was already a professor, and that draw me to him, since he already then, had gone after what he wanted. So shortly, I fell in love with his mind and drive first, then his eyes, and later his smile. When he grew his beard, it simply just completed his attractiveness. His body no matter the stature of which is all that I could ever ask for, since it's the sexiest body, which I have ever seen in my life. Though you might not think it most of it is muscle anyway. Not fat.

When we made love, for the first time, it felt like something I had never felt before, when having sex with a guy. Gils gentle touch and carefulness felt complete to me, and that might have something to do with two halves of a soul, finally coming together and feeling complete, for the first time in their lives. He talks to me, cares for me, cuddles me and makes sure that I'm comfortable, when ever we're making love.

Gil is the most considerable man in the world. Duh! Of course I knew that before we even got together. Even before we became friends also. I could already tell it by that first seminar. My radar was even good then. He is the best thing that has happened to me….

"Princess?" I am suddenly ripped away from my thoughts, by the insist summons of my older brother. "Sara?"

"Umm yes?" I say and look at Gareth, who's wearing an amused expression.

"Where were you, little sister?" He asks me. "You seemed to be a million miles away just there."

"I was just thinking." I say smiling and he tilted his head, making me smile even wider.

The head tilt is a gesture that I know so well. It was the thing he did growing up, and as an adult, when he wants to know more, but don't bother open his mouth. I have always titled this gesture as: "Can you please elaborate?" I did after forming the words in my head before speaking, making one of my habits pronounced, namely the one that wanted to make sure that I say the right things. Did growing up and also as an adult. Apparently we have just reverted back to childhood, in this short time we've been reunited. I like this.

"I was just thinking how great it is having you here now." I answer my brothers' silent question.

"It's great being here." He says back. "I got so nervous when Grissom called me." He says un-doubly careful not to say "your boyfriend", now that we're inside the lab.

"I know." I say. "I have a lot to tell you once we're out of here. Stuff not suited for a place like this, where the walls have ears. And where rumors can be running rampant." Gareth nods as I drain my mug. "You wanna see the lab?"

"I'd love to." He said, and then he drained his mug also. Taking both in my possession, I went about to rinse them before motion for Gareth to follow me out in the hall.

Once there, the first person we bumped into was Greg. After the resident "little brother's" near collision with Gareth, in his run down the hall, he apologized in motion and disappeared down the hall. I had to explain to my dear nearly over-run brother, that that was just Greg's way of acting sometimes. That was just his way of letting off steam, now that there weren't much to do this night. By that time, we had closed in on fingerprint queen Jacquis lab.

"Hey Jacqui!" I said as we entered her domain. She was bend over some fingerprint evidence, and when hearing me, she looked up and focused on us.

"Oh hey Sara." She said to me. "Slow night?"

"Very slow night." I agreed with her. "I'd like you to meet Gareth, my older brother." I said as a way of introducing them to one another. Jacqui smiled.

"Hi Jacqui Franco, nice to meet you." She says. "I'd shake hands, but they are filled with fingerprints." She jokes and manages to make Gareth chuckle, by her dry lab technician humor.

"Nice one, Jacqui." I tell her as I chuckle myself and my brother agrees.

"All kidding a side." She says as she puts down what she has in her right hand and sticks out a latex glowed hand. While she and Gareth shake hands, she says. "It's an honor to meet the brother of Sara Sidle."

After a brief interaction, we head out and make a beeline for Archie's Audio/Visual lab. After saying hello to him, and we are on our way to Bobby's ballistic lab, I hear Jims voice calling from behind.

"Hey Sara?" I smile as I turn around.

"Hey Brass." I say as he reaches us. He looks with interest at Gareth.

"Don't say anything." He says as he studies my brother intently. "Cheekbones, same shape of eyes…" I hear him mutter, as if he's ticking of items mentally. "You must be Gareth, Sara's brother?"

"I am." Says Gareth.

"I thought so." Jim says. "I'd be a lousy cop, if I couldn't see that." He comments dryly. We all laugh.

"Gareth, meet Jim Brass." I introduce. "The graveyard Homicide Detective." Once more a shaking hands session, before I turn to Jim. "I wanna thank you for helping Gil in finding Gareth."

"Don't even mention it." He says as I hug him. "You're my special girl, and I wanted to do this for you." He says. Then. "Listen, I just came from Gil, and he suggested breakfast for the 'whole team' after shift."

"That would be a good idea." I say and look at my brother. "You up for breakfast while meeting the rest of the gang? Or are you too tired?"

"I can manage." He answers. "I work crazy hours too, Sis, so I can handle being up a little bit more. Especially if it means meeting the rest of your friends."

"Then it's settled." I say with a smile.

"Good." Jim says. "I'll go rustle up the three swing-shifters, from their sleep, and then I'll catch Al too. And oh, it's at nine at Gils place. "

"Sure." I say. "You go get the rest of the guys going, and I'll tell Greg, where ever he sped off to."

Agreeing then we part ways. Jim heading in the direction of Gils office, and we goes off in search of Greg.

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**To be continued...**

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	11. Team Breakfast

**Okay a new chapter.**

**Disclaimers: See chapter 1. again.**

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**Chp. 11.**

Some hours after Sara, Grissom and I enter his townhouse. While Grissom and Sara drops off their stuff, I am left to look around, standing in the middle of the big open space, serving as kitchen and living area. I am not surprised to see that the walls is decorated with bugs all over, given that the guy is an entomologist. In between there's framed diplomas from various colleges and universities, blended in with framed articles, featuring the famed Dr. Grissom. I turn around as I hear clatter of bowls, and I see my sister and Grissom, starting to prepare for the makings of a big breakfast.

It's now my time to take on the investigator glasses as I watch them interact. It's like seeing a well-oiled machine running. It's like they're been together for several years, and not just for some weeks, and I'm sort of curious as to know just how long they've known each other.

I have never seen my sister glowing like she does now, as she and her boyfriend are around each other preparing for the breakfast. I am happy for her, and I know by heart that Grissom is a good guy, but as any big brother would do, I need to make sure that he really is the good guy. Not that I want to interrogate the poor man, I'll just ask Sara if he's of the good kind, since I whole heartily know, what temper my sister can show off, if I go ahead and ask Grissom about stuff behind her back. But somehow I need to know, since I don't want her to end up with a man, who is like our father. I loved our father, dearly, but he was a bastard. I know that Grissom is no such kind, given the profession that he's in, but me being the over protective older brother, I just need to be absolutely sure.

I've got to admit that I was a bit blown away, when I was told that they're romantically involved. Sure I don't know their back-story, but I believe it to be a very long story, and Sara will tell me almost the whole length, once we get talking. My wristwatch chimes to announce, that the clock has hit nine, and everybody will soon be showing up. No long after have I finished that thought, the doorbell goes and Sara went to answer the said door. I hear her greet a Nicky, combined with some good naturedly bantering, about the said Nicky always being on time, before a dark haired guy steps in giving her a hug in the process. She waves me over.

"Gareth, Nick Stokes of the swing shift." She says. "Nicky, my brother Gareth."

"Nice to meet you Nick." I say.

"You too." The other pipes up in a perfect Texas drawl. "Great finally meeting the real life brother of Sara Sidle." He says with a smile. I must have looked confused by his statement. "Your sister and I are barely born one month apart, me being the oldest, so I feel like Sara's my baby sister." He elaborates.

Nicks statement of Sara being his "baby sister", causes the two of them to banter good naturedly about whether or not, she should be called that or just "younger sister", now there's only this month between them. I can't help feel a bit jealous, since that could have been me there, bantering with her, so I get one step closer to a definite decision, of something that I've been thinking about.

The next person to enter the breakfast scene is Jim with the coroner Al Robbins in tow. Al is a bear and seems to adore Sara, just as much as Jim does. Greg follows next in a loud outfit, and then the rest of the apparent swing shift, Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown, pops up. Warrick is also sort of a brother to Sara I understand. The strawberry blond Catherine, mother of the just dropped off at school, Lindsay, is very attractive. But I can feel something not yet defined between her and that Warrick guy, so I better stay away here. Soon the breakfast is in full swing and there's chatter all over. I have to answer questions about my work, of where I have been and if I've blown some known buildings down.

Sara and Gil, that's what he finally asked me to call him, casually hold hands, whenever they don't need to hold their knives and forks. And she still has that glow over her, and I realize that my sister is gone. Gone for good this time, and that Gil's who's filling her whole life. So my sister is finally in love, something that I doubted after our experiences. I was afraid that she'd never wanted to settle down, of fear that the man she settled down with would change character when a fight comes up and suddenly hit her. Gil wouldn't do that, I realize now, so I put my plans to rest, the ones about me making sure that Gil is not that kind of guy. What I do realize is, that I should probably begin to adjust to the thought that Gil could end up being my Brother-In-Law, at some point in the future.

As we eat I'm also told about some of the strange cases, that they have been solving over the years. There are a lot of them and when Warrick shares Sara's self-combustion theory, when an elderly woman burned to death in her chair, I am left to gape at my sister, who's blushing madly and giggles. She's then quick to tell me, what really caused the elderly woman to burn up. I'm also told about the gym bag, carrying a very much-decamped man, and how Sara smelled after that. I have no idea of, how they can handle seeing what they see, and then eat right after that. I guess that they get used to it after a while. I am told though, that Sara became a vegetarian, after she and Gil had followed a dead pig, and how it decamped, for a whole night. Not a pleasant sight, according to my sister, so after that she switched to become a vegetarian.

The breakfast comes to an end. Greg, Jim and Al have to go home and sleep. Nick, Warrick and Catherine has to catch their shift, so soon they all thanks for the breakfast invitations, tells me it was great meeting me, hopes that I'll stay in town for a while and files out the door. We all, Sara, Gil and I, shares the task of cleaning up after the breakfast.

There's some decision to makes, whether Sara and I should head for her place to stay. But given that she has no guest room, and only an uncomfortable couch, it's decided that we're to stay at Gils place, since he has a guest room. Sara says a bit shy, as we head for my stuff which is still in Gils car, that she's been staying almost all the time there anyway.

"So are you happy, little sister?" I ask her as we reach the car.

"Very much." She sighs happily I can tell and smiles. "Even more now that you're here. I've missed you so much big brother."

"I know, Princess." I say as she unlocks the door to the backseat. "I've missed you too, so when Gil called me and said that you needed me, I just had to get here." I grab my stuff, closes the door and she locks it again.

"We need to talk." She says as we're heading back inside.

"I also know that." I agree. "But first we need to get some sleep." She nods.

Sara shows me to the guestroom, and guest bathroom, and then we hug for a goodnight. It sounds weird saying "goodnight", but I guess that how it is, when you work all night and have to sleep during the day. As I get comfortable under my cover, the thought of Sara, sleeping in the arms of Gil, is quite unsettling to me. But I have to get used to it, since she'd done that for some time now. Not long after finishing that thought, sleep over comes me, and soon I suspect we're all asleep.

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**Will start chapter 12 soon.**

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	12. Weird, waking up in the same house

**NOTE 1: Chapter 12.  
NOTE 2: Still in Gareths POV.  
NOTE 3: Had a lot of troubles typing this chapter up, so forgive me if it's lame.**

**DISCLAIMERS: You know the drill by now... See chapter 1.**

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**Chp. 12.**

I wake up to a faint noise, which I detect comes from the kitchen and I stretch and rubs the sleep from my eyes. I grab my watch from the nightstand, and squints to see what the time is. The time is nearly 5:30 pm, so I roll out of bed, put on my pants, shrug on my shirt and starts for the kitchen. I find Sara in the midst of putting on some coffee, and she smiles when she sees me.

"Hey brother." She says.

"Hey yourself." I say and give her a hug. I take in her sleep tousled bed hair, and her flushed sleepy cheeks and bleary eyes. It's been so long since I've seen her, just as she's woken up. She's always been looking like this, and I have really missed waking up, and having her just in the next room. I then look around. "Umm where's Gil?"

"Oh he got called in." She answers. "Apparently the swing shift has a bug infested body on their hands, so Gil had to get up and get to the crime scene, since the body can't be moved for the fear of cross inseminations." She explains to me. I have no idea of what she talks about, the cross insemination that is, but I'm sure I'll get an explanation sometime. In the mean time I just nod as an okay.

"How long will he be?" I ask.

"He never knows." She says. "It depends on what he is dealing with, once he's on the scene. And it depends on how many species he'll be finding, and stuff like that. Then he has to go back to the lab, and examine each specimen for traces of evidence. It's a long process at times."

"Okay." I say.

"Anyway… before he left, he told me that if your interested, you are more than willing to tag along tonight and experience a somewhat busy night at the Las Vegas Crime Lab." Says she.

"I'd like that." I say since I'm nosey as to see, what it is my sister is really doing.

"So how did you sleep?" She asks me as we're waiting for the coffee maker to finish it's sputtering.

"I slept great." I say. "It's so much different, sleeping in a real bed, than the hotel bed which was originally waiting for me in Alaska."

"I'd imagine." She says.

"So how are you sleeping?" I ask her since I know to the nightmares; she began having after that night. "Still nightmares?" I see her face turn into an interesting shade of red, and she smiles a bit shyly at me.

"I used to have a lot of them, but after I've started sleeping in Gils arms every night, I haven't had a single one." She admits to me in a quiet shy voice as she looks down on her feet. "He gives me the peace I need in my sleep, so I can get a good sleep. I feel protected in his arms." She almost whispers of embarrassment having to reveal such a personal intimate thing to me.

I can't help but smile. I knew it! He definitely is one of the best guys around, and I now know that he'll do anything to protect her and take care of her. I put a hand on her shoulder, and that causes her to look up again, and she still looks flustered.

"You don't have to be embarrassed." I say and squeeze her shoulder. "I can see how he acts towards you, how extraordinary good he treats you, and I can tell that he is one of the best guys around. I can see that he has made you happier than I've ever seen you being. You are practically glowing with happiness, and I've never seen you be like that, when you've been with the other few guys I've met. I like him." She suddenly breaks into a huge smile and jumps into my arms and hugs me tight.

"It means so much to me, all of what you just told me." She says. "And I especially appreciates that you like him. I needed to hear that, since you're my only brother, my only remaining family, so I needed your acceptance." I only hug her back.

We then grab our respective coffee mug, fills them to the brim and balance with them over to the couch, where we both breathes a sigh of relief, once they're safely sat down on the coffee table. After making ourselves comfortable we reach for our first sip of the coffee. We sit there a while, letting the caffeine set in, and then I decide to ask her some questions.

"So how long have you and him known each other?" I ask her.

"To be entirely correct, about thirteen years." She says. "But we saw each other nearly fourteen years ago at a seminar at Harvard."

"Fourteen years?" I ask her. She nods. "But then you were only 20, weren't you?" She nods again. "Okay." Then she starts out telling me all about how they met.

They met each other at Harvard, at a seminar, where Gil had come to teach about how to solve crimes through forensics science. She tells me about how she approached him and about the coffee sessions which lad them to become friends. She tells me about how Gil took her under his wings, once she had arrived in San Francisco, and helped her to choose the right courses and classes at Berkley, so she could qualify to become a CSI. She tells me that she solved her first solo case to perfection, and about Gil recommending her to the San Francisco Crime Lab. About the sad loneliness she felt when he had to move here, and then the pride she felt, when Gil on his very own, slowly pulled the Las Vegas Crime Lab from the bottom of the rank list, up to being the number two lab in the country. She tells me about the absolute happiness when he called her for help, and about the giddiness when she was finally around him again.

She tells me about the joy she felt, when Gil offered her the chance of transferring to Las Vegas and therefore a chance to work alongside him again. She tells me about the very happy times, as well as some of the bad times, when it came to their friendship then. She tells me that somehow it all took a wrong turn, and they lost their connection, their communication, making them both miserable.

She tells me about when everything came crashing down, during that case which led to her breakdown, and finally a reason for the two of them starting to communicate again, leading to mutually revelations. Sara tells me that she fell in love with Gil, the moment she saw, and heard, him at that very first seminar, where she only asked one question, and didn't see him for another year. She tells me that Gil had felt just like she'd done all these years.

So to make a very long complicated tangled story short, as she says, after nearly fourteen years of being ignorantly in love with each other, and the lot of pain and troubles following that, they are finally together.

Or as they'd heard their friends put it in their own eloquent way: The smoldering Geek Love bonfire finally started to blaze the way it should blaze. I can't help but thinking, that it's a very poetic way of looking at it. Especially after Sara elaborates just why it is, everybody else at the lab calls Gil and her for geeks. Apparently my sister and Gil could live in the lab, before they got together.

By the time Sara's done sharing, the time is to get ready. I give Sara a big hug, thanks her for telling me about everything and then we head for our respective showers.

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**Chp. 13 coming up soon.**

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	13. Tagging along: Pt I

**Another chapter and still Gareths POV.**

**Disclaimers: You still know the drill... See chapter 1 please.**

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**Chp. 13.**

Some hours later I'm sitting on the hood of Gils work car, as I observe the ruckus going on around me. Right ahead of me there's a house, illuminated in spotlight, in where various cops, paramedics, and crime scene investigators come and goes. To my right there are a lot of squat cars sitting with the top light on. Amongst all theses vehicles, there's the one belonging to the coroner's office. I saw David, Al's assistant, pulling up earlier to retrieve the body, or bodies, as the case could be here. To my left there's a gathered crowd, who's nosey as to see what's going on. I can't help but wonder if they have nothing more interesting to do, than to be in the way, and obstructing the work of the law enforcement. I know how I'll feel if anyone is in the way when I have to do my job. And my job is nowhere near a job, where people can gather up so close, since that'll be very dangerous.

Yes I'm at a crime scene with a special badge hanging around my neck. On said badge, there's a picture of me, my name is also there, and it all shows that I'm actually allowed to be there, since I'm of course a civilian. Archie took the picture swiftly, when Sara and I arrived to the lab, and then the badge was done in the matter of minutes, since Gil had done some pre-preparations, so it had gone swift. The quickness had been good, since not long after being handed the badge, also to be used when inside the lab, the night shift had been called out. So that leads me to sit here on the hood, being told to stay put, as my sister, Gil, and Greg processes the house from top to bottom.

At some point, David excites the house, pulling a stretcher at his side. On top of that, there's a body bag, closed up good, with the distinct outlining of a body in it. Male, female, I don't know, but the knowledge of being so near a anyone dead, gives me the chills for a minute. Once the body is loaded into the car, David hops in and makes his way back to the lab. Jim comes out too, closes his notebook, and stuffs it into his chest pocket. Then the homicide detective makes a beeline for me. We small talk some, and then Sara emerges from the house, pulling off some latex gloves, digs out a bag, which I'm guessing is an zip lock evidence bag, out of the breast pocket of her CSI issued vest, and dumps them inside, and then makes her way over to us, while zipping the bag closed. Once she has reached us, she brings out a pen, and then scribbles something on it. I can't help but craning my neck, trying to see what she scribbles. She looks up and catches my attempts of see what she's writing.

"I'm writing my name on this bag so it can be cataloged properly." She says and holds up the bag for me to see. "This crime scene demands that all evidence gets bagged, and so that also means our gloves, since there can be invisible evidence on them." She explains to me. "It has to be cataloged properly, so no evidence disappears somehow."

"Ah!" I say. "I can see the point in that."

"You bored" She asks me as she puts her pen away again, and stuffs the evidence bag into the breast pocket, of where it came from, again for safe keeping.

"No." I say. "There's a lot going on here to look at."

Both Gil and Greg steps out of the house, and Gil calls both Sara and Jim over. They form a tiny circle as they conference, and after a while I see Sara head back into the house, Jim makes a beeline for a uniformed cop and Greg walks to the backside of the house. Gil stays put in the open doorway. Sara comes back out a few minutes later, carrying her kit in one hand, and a handful of filled evidence bags in the other. Her and Gil talks some more, appearing to be the pictures of perfect work decorum, now they're at a crime scene, but I can see the glimpse they each wear in their eyes for each other, and one only apparent to those who are let in on their secret. He put a hand lightly on her forearm, as they briefly lock eyes. They then break loose from one another, Gil heads back inside the house and my sister comes back to me, reaching me as a young uniformed cop approaches us.

"CSI Sidle?" The cop says.

"Yes Officer." She answers him.

"I'm Officer Wallace. Detective Brass asked me to bring you and your guest back to the crime lab." He says.

"Thanks Officer Wallace." Sara says as she locks eyes with Jim, who is standing a bit away, and gives him a smile for thanks.

"My squad car is right over here, so if you'll please follow me Ma'am, Mr." Officer Wallace says as I hop off of the hood, and we follow him to his car. He pops open the trunk and Sara loads her kit and the evidence bags inside and closes it again. Officer Wallace waits until Sara has slid into the passenger seat, and I'm in the back, until he himself gets inside. We all buckle up and then we're on our way. The trip is quiet, and I suspect that my sister is already mulling over the evidence, loaded safely into the trunk. Soon we arrive back to the lab.

"Do you need any help, Ma'am?" Officer Wallace asks as Sara takes her stuff out of the trunk.

"No thank you, Officer." Sara slams the trunk shut. "I can handle it. You just get back to the crime scene again."

"Okay Ma'am." The Officer says.

"Oh and thanks for the ride." Sara says.

"Not a problem." Officer Wallace says as he opens the door at the driver's side. "Have a good shift Ma'am."

"You too." Sara says and the Officer is off again.

We makes our way to the locker room for Sara to store away her kit, before we take the labs, one at a time, to drop off the evidence bags to the right lab techs. We then head for the break room for a cup of coffee, and a well-earned break. Well, at least for Sara, since I've just been sitting there, doing absolutely nothing, but observe the actions going on around me.

"So is this how it goes on, every time you process a crime scene?" I ask her as we're sitting down.

"For the most part." She says. "Sometimes it seems like all the bad guys, and gals, have left town, so we have nothing to do. Other times it seems like that every bad guy, and gal, have decided to go on a crime spree, so we have to work double or triple shifts, just to be somewhat on the top of things. These days we don't even have time, to just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, since it's crazy around here. But it's all worth it, since we get to solve who did it? Why they did it? Where they did it? When they did it? All solemnly based on our evidence. It's a pretty good feeling, once we accomplish nailing the bad guy or gal." She smiles after the last comment.

I bet it's a pretty good feeling. Albeit I haven't seen the inside of a house, where a crime has been committed, it can't look that pretty. Once again I find myself in awe of my sister and her friends. They see stuff everyday that almost all people wouldn't be able to handle seeing. I mean my sister and her friends, is exposed to the most horrible frightening scenes every day. They see what horrendous things people are capable of doing. And still they can go out to eat right after that. I've seen pictures, of crime scenes, of dead people, hanging around in the different labs, and those were enough to make me queasy, and quickly look away again, once my eyes accidentally fall onto them. I'm brought out of my thoughts by a jarring sound coming from Sara's pager. She removes it from the clip on her hip, reads the message, and looks at me.

"It's from Al." She informs me. "I have to go see what he wants. Just make yourself to home, and your welcome to go rest in Gils office. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Okay." I say as Sara gets up and leaves me to my own.

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**Noticed the hugelack of Sofia action hereanyone?  
Explaination: I have yet to watch the episode, that have lead people who has seen it, spork Sofia in the not so gentle way. And I shouldn't go ahead and spork her myself, before I know the real facts here. But as the trusted Geek Love supporter that I am, I can't help already disliking her, only based on other Geek Love supporters words. But I guess that's just how we are. Right? We're only protecting the GSR at somehowall costs. Right?In the matter of facts, I already resented her a bit, as she joined the team in the first place.**

**Reviews please.**


	14. Tagging along: Pt II

**NOTE1: I can't believe I'm actually on chapter 14. I really didn't see that coming...  
NOTE2: Still the POV of Gareth.**

**Disclaimers: All written in chapter 1.**

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**Chp. 14.**

After finishing my coffee I head for Gils office, stopping at the male restroom on my way. As I exit again, I literally bump into Jacqui, with a force that causes her to drop everything she has in her arms on the floor. It litters the floor, and giving the queen of fingerprints an apologetic smile, we both crouch down to gather the littered case folders, papers and other stuff that I don't even know what is, and picks it up from the floor.

"I'm so sorry about nearly knocking you over like that." I say as I hand her my share of just picked up stuff.

"No worries." She says and smiles at me. "I really wasn't paying attention as to where I was going anyway. I had my nose buried in some papers." She explains. "I was actually trying to find Sara. You wouldn't happen know as to where that sister of yours hides out?"

"I do." I say. "She got paged by Dr. Robbins, so that's where she's hiding."

"Oh." Says she. "That could easily take a while then. So where were you off to?"

"I was just on my way to Grissoms office to stay there." I answer her. "To stay out of the way so to speak."

Jacqui looks speculative for a moment.

"In that case, if you don't think you'd be terribly bored?" She starts. "Do you want to come with me, to keep me company in my lab, and be out of the way being there, while you wait for her to return?"

I think for just a second.

"I'd like that." I answer her, but then something hits me. "But if I'm not in Grissoms office, or in the break room, when she comes back, then how will she find me?"

"Don't worry about that." Jacqui says as she starts to lead the way to her lab. "If I know Sara correctly, she'll prowl the labs until she finds you. She's tenacious that way." I nod.

"That sounds like my sister." I say as we enter her domain. She tells me to pull up a chair, so I can sit on the other side of the table. I watch as she sort out the papers again, the ones that littered to the floor earlier, and place them in a neat pile, ready for whoever needs them to pick them up. "So why do you need Sara?"

"Oh, I just need some more background information, about the load of fingerprints she loaded off earlier." She says. "I can't get further before I get those info." She says.

We sit there a bit. "Fire in the hall!" Is suddenly shouted through the halls, by Bobby I recognize on the southern drawl, and it's followed by shooting. I see Jacqui glance at me, probably to see if I'm flinching, but I'm not. I got used to firing guns in the marines, so it never bothers me.

"You're not bothered?" She asks me.

No I'm not." I say. "I joined the marines when I was 18, so I got used to the sounds of guns fired then, and all loud sounds in general, since I trained in explosives."

"You are?" Jacqui said, startled I could tell, to which I nod an affirmation.

"Yes. They paid for my college education, so I could be fully equipped in what I does today." I say. "I'm a demolition expert, traveling all around the country, and abroad to where ever demolition experts are needed."

"Wow!" I see an admiring glimpse in her eyes. "You any good?"

"He is the one of the best in his field." Says an intruding voice I quickly recognize as my sisters. Both Jacqui and I look to the open doorway, and see her standing there, a smile adorning her face. Then Jacqui looks back at me.

"See I told you so." The look means to say, meaning that Sara would find him no matter where he'd gone too and I just smile at her. I can't help starting to like Jacqui. She's a lot of fun, quite a character I gather to be around. We could easily get along on a broader scale.

"I'm not that good." I say a bit embarrassed as I glance at Jacqui. No. Really, I'm not.

"Now don't be so modest, older brother." My sister says. "Since we haven't seen each other for a great while, I'm very much allowed to flatter and praise you, since that have lacked in my life." She comes in and stands next to the table and looks at Jacqui. "His team's actually one of the very best."

"Hey I can't help it, if my teams planning always turns out to be the best." I say again being modest.

"That's because you, I believer you're the head of your team, managed to gather the best around you." Smiles Jacqui and I look at her. She winks at me, and I can't help but smile in response. Yes I definitely like her. I look away, and catch my sister's glance from me to Jacqui, with something in her eyes, and I know what she thinks. That however is not the case here, so to deflect her enquiring attention, I decide to reminded Jacqui about something.

"Jacqui?" I say causing the woman in question to look at me. " Didn't you have anything for Sara?"

"Oh right." Jacqui says. "Sara, I just need a little bit more info on a matter."

The two women digs into it, using words and phrases I know absolutely nothing about, so I just sit there as I listen to them, as I follow the action going on in the hallway outside. Greg walks by, kit and bags in hands, and takes a fleeing glance inside the lab where we are, then there's the distinct sound of someone screeching to a halt, Greg I presume, and I'm not disappointed since Greg comes back and pops inside.

"Hey girls, Gareth." He greets us as he puts down his kit, and places the bags securely on top of it.

"Hi Greg." Both women in the room say at the same time, as they look up from what they're doing. Manly as we are, Greg and I only give a nod by our heads. Then Greg starts rummaging through his jeans pockets, and finally produces a folded piece of paper.

"Sara?" He says. "I've been sent to give you this." He winks at her and I know from whom the note comes from. He then proceeds to occupy Jacqui, so Sara can read her note uninterrupted.

I watch my sister's face as she reads, and slowly a wide smile spreads across it, almost splitting it in half. She turns her head toward me and mouths: "It's from Gil", and I nod.

"Thank you so much, Greg." She then says, folds the note again, and stuffs it into the right hand front pocket of her jeans for safekeeping.

"You're welcome." Greg says. He picks up an evidence bag, and with much fuss, hands it over Jacqui. "More fingerprints to analyze, me lady." She laughs, rolls her eyes and the swat Greg lightly on his arm. "And now I've got much to deliver around, and much to do myself." With that he bends to retrieve his stuff from the floor, and sweeps out the door, to resume the path he was on before.

"He is nuts." States Jacqui, as she continues to chuckle.

"That he is." Agrees Sara. "But that only make us love him so much more. Right?" Jacqui agrees by nodding her head with force. "Are we done here, Jacqui?"

"Yep that we are." She answers. "For now, anyway. I'll page you if I come across more."

"Okay." Sara says and then addressed me. "You wanna come with me, or do you want to stay here?"

"I'll come with you, sis." I say. A much as I want to be entertained by Jacqui, my need to be with my sister is stronger. So I get up. "It was nice to be out of the way in here with you." I say to her.

"Anytime." Jacqui retorts. "See you around."

"Yep, you too." Sara and I duck out into the hallway, after we have bid Jacqui goodbye.

"So, how did you end up in there?" Sara hikes her thump in the general direction of the fingerprint lab.

"Oh I went to the men's room, on my way to Gils office, and as I came out again, I walked straight into her." I begin to explain. "She dropped everything she had in her arms, so I helped her picking it up again. We got to talk, she needed to find you, and I needed to be out of the way. So, she invited me to keep her company in her lab, and thus be out of the way in that sense."

"That was nice of her." Comments Sara.

"It was nice of her." I say.

"So you two looked very cozy when I arrived." Sara says with a smile. I recognize it to be the teasing one. And I know exactly what she's meaning with that smile.

"Don't even start thinking about that." I warn her.

"About what?" She says innocently.

"You know exactly what I mean, little sister." I say.

"I know." She says. "I'm just taunting you, big brother. That's all. It's too long since I've been able to do that."

I only bump her should with mine, as we both starts laughing, gaining looks on our way.

"So what did Gil say in that note you received from Greg?" I ask her as we enter the said Gils office.

"Just that he is running late." She says.

I do happen to suspect that the note said a lot more. Sara gave away the clue, when her face split into that huge smile earlier in Jacquis domain. But what the rest of the note says, stays between them, since it belongs between only the two of them. I do believe, vaguely, that the rest of the note said something sweet, which ended up in an 'I LOVE YOU!' fashion.

"So, you haven't seen my place yet." Sara says. "So given that I have to go check on its situation, we might as well go there after shift."

I affirm my okay to that with a nod of my head.

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**IMPORTANT LAST MINUTE NOTE:  
I've decided to let the chapters come in different POV styles, and everyone based on Original Characters, since I need the POV of all of the others. Well except for Gareth of course, who is my very own. I'll remember togive a notice of whos POV each chapter is written in.**

**Push the little button down below please.**


	15. The BIG talk

**YES, YES, YES...! She finally came back to me. What a joy!**

**NOTE: Grissom's POV here.**

**Disclaimers: Shall we refresh here... CBS is the only Bosses of any know CSI character. So again I plead, don't sue me please. Gareth is my very own though.**

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**Chp. 15.**

When I enter my townhouse, I see Gareth pacing the living room floor, as he holds my cordless phone to his ear. Sara is still at the lab, so Gareth has been 'home alone' for the night, since she had an out of town body. He could have come in with me, stayed in my office or in Jacquis domain, since I've heard from Sara that those two get along exceptionally. But Gareth chose to stay 'home', since he just needed to relax a lot. I don't blame him, since he has been tagging along a lot over these days.

"Can you by any chance get to Vegas sometime?" I hear him ask whoever's on the other end. "I mean the whole team here, since I want you to meet my sister." He then says and listens. "Okay just call me if you're all able to break away. If you can't I'll have to come to you, because there's something that I need to discuss with you all, as a team, since it will affect all of you somehow."

It's not my intention to eavesdrop, but catching that last comment, has my curiosity peaked. I am an investigator, and the head of a team, so naturally my ears peaks by that. I go about putting away my stuff and soon Gareth ends his phone call. He drops the receiver into the charger before heading towards me.

"Hey Gil." He greets me.

"Hi." I say back. "Had a good night?"

"Yes I had." He says as he sits down on a chair by the counter, while looking around as if he is seeking someone, or something. "Sara still at the lab?"

"Yes she is." I answer him. "This case of hers proves to be very difficult, so she told me, that she'll probably pull a double shift on this one." I am now starting the preparations for my breakfast. "You hungry?"

"No thanks." He answers me but accepts the mug of coffee I hand him.

This is the first time we've been all alone in my home, since Sara's always been here too, so I should try getting to, for lack of a better word, 'bond' with her brother. I know that he thinks good of me, since Sara has told me that, but regardless of that, I need to show him my true colors. Meaning that I need to let him know, just how good my intentions is towards his little sister, his 'Princess'.

The dept of my feelings for Sara is like a bottomless hole. It scared me witless, at first, so I found it hard to breath, but now I'm used to them. I love my Honey, more than life itself. She's so amazing, so brilliant, so clever, and so beautiful, that I'm in awe of her every time that I see her. I decide to take the plunge, right out into the deep end of a proverbial swimming pool.

"We really haven't had much time to chat alone." I start. "I don't know if you're like your sister, always having a million questions, but nonetheless I gather that you have some at least if that's not the case." I say.

"I'm not as inquisitive as my sister, and believe me I know how she is, but I do have a few questions." Gareth says.

"Like the one of my true intentions?" I ask him and he nods. "Believe me when I say, that they are honorable." I say that in my most serious tone of voice.

"I know that but still I have to look out for her heart." He tells me.

"And you are the only one present to do that." I say. "You are the only one she has got left to do that. You are her older brother, and I would never break her heart. I can tell you that, with absolutely sincerity, since she is everything to me." Now that is said in a deadly serious tone. I don't ever want to hurt her ever again. I've done that too many times over the last years of us working together. Then I ask, "Any concerns about the age difference between us?"

"At first I was a bit bewildered by the great age gap." He tells me. "But then I thought about it. Sara's always been a person, who's been more mature and serious than those her own age. She has never been comfortable with guys her age, since they're too immature for her liking." I see him contemplate his next words. "But you are the man she's been looking for Gil. You're committed to your job, your dependable, and your steady; you're everything Sara has always wanted. And most of all, and the most important factor of all factors, you have the total opposite character straits of our 'daddy dearest'. And I couldn't be more thankful for that. And I don't care that you're her boss either, because I have never seen her as happy as she is now. She's practically radiating with happiness, and that's all that counts here. I can see that you treat her as her name commands: As a Princess, or Lady if you will. It means so much to me, that you love her, and cherish her, just the way she is. So to answer your question, no the age difference does not bother me at all." He takes a sip of his mug. "You have been granted my approval. But mark my words, if you every do anything to hurt her…" He trails off in warning.

"Then you have my permission to shoot me, if that's your wish if ever." I assure him.

"Then we are on the exact same page here." He says.

"Indeed we are. I love with everything I've got." I say as we shake hands as a way of sealing the deal. As if I could, or would, ever do anything to hurt my Honey again?

My home had now become her home somehow, and that felt really good to me. After my talk with Gareth, and finished my breakfast, I had headed to bed while he volunteered to clean up after me. A while later, I wake up and feel Sara's left arm around me, and her body spooning me from behind. Small puffs of breath can be felt on my neck and I can't help snuggle more into her. Life is very good, I think, and more so after having Gareths final approval of my relationship with his sister. After a while I gently turn in her grasp, so I can look at her.

Sometimes my mind still stumbles over the fact that I finally got the beautiful Sara Sidle in my life. As I look at her, I can just about see her face in the dim light of my bedroom. I remove a strand of hair, which has fallen into her closed eyes, and push it out of the way. Then she makes some small sounds in her sleep and reaches for me. I gladly obey and scoots a bit closer to her sleeping form. I spend, what seems forever, just being close to her, while I softly run my fingers through her hair. I can smell that she took a bath, before she went to sleep, meaning that she had to wash off, what ever it was she had to process at the lab. I bury my nose in her hair, and inhale the vanilla scent that is her shampoo and conditioner. The scent that I have become to know as hers, and the scent which always tells me that she's in the room, when ever I enter it. I tighten my grip around her, kiss her on her forehead, and then I'm off to dreamland again. With a smile on my lips.

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**More about Gareths phone call in one chapter or two. Don't know when just yet.**

**So what do you think?**


	16. Coffee for 4 and mental plans forming

**Phew... I suddenly found myself getting the energy, so I could finish this chapter 16. Thank you for your patience, while I try to sort outall of my life troubles. And neglecting writing in the meantime.**

**Disclaimers: CSI still belongs to CBS. But Gareth is still my own though.**

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**Chp. 16.**

I spot Ecklie as Gareth and I heads to Jacqui, to see if he can stay there, while I'm going to interrogate a suspect. As he sees me, he gives me a glower then set his gaze on my companion. I see that he realize that Gareth is related to me, since he gives us both a once over one at a time.

"Sidle." He greets me coolly as he pass us.

"Ecklie." I greet him just as coolly, and then he continues down the hall, while Gareth shoots me a surprised glance.

"Is it just me, or was that a polar bear I saw pass by, as you two passed one another?" He asks me, and glance over his shoulder at Ecklie.

"It shouldn't surprise me if you saw one." I say irritated. "That was the idiot that had me suspended."

"Ecklie?" He asks me and I nod. "Then I understand the polar bear comment."

We start to laugh as we enter Jacqui's domain and she looks at us in surprise.

"What's so funny, if I may ask?" She asks us.

"Just Ecklie." I answer her. I can safely include her, since she hates Ecklie as much as us on the graveyard and swing shift does. Not that she has our reasons, but her own personal reasons are clearly enough.

"I understand." She says with a knowing smile. "Hi Gareth."

"Hi Jacqui." My brother says, and they share a smile.

I don't know what's going on here, between those two, but there's clearly something.

"What can I do for you two?" She then says.

"Just wanted to know if I could pass the time here?" Gareth says before I can open my mouth. "She's going to interrogate someone." He gestures towards me.

"If your not busy, that is." I say.

"I don't mind, and I'm not that busy." Jacqui says with a smile. "Pull up a chair and get comfortable." Gareth obeys and heads for a chair. He plops down across the table from her.

"Then it's settled." I say and start to leave. "See you later." I hear responses from both of them, as I heads over to meet Jim and Greggo, who are waiting with the suspect.

Somewhere around 45 minutes later, I return to the labs, head bowed deep in thoughts. As I turn a corner, I bump into the solid wall of a human being, coming from the opposite direction. I don't even have to look up to see who it is, since I know the stature of said body, as well as my own pocket.

"Hey Griss." I say even before raising my head.

"Hey yourself." He says as our eyes meet. He gives me that smile of his, which always seems to melt my insides. "So what had you so pre-occupied, that you had to walk smack-dap into me?" He asks me.

"Oh it's just the case I'm working on." I answer him. "There's something rotten about it, and I just can't put my finger on what it is."

"Want some help on it?" He asks me as he motions for me to follow him.

"Nah." I say. "I'll figure it out eventually."

"Okay. But I'm here if you need an extra brain." He then informs me, to which I nod and smile to. "So where's Gareth?"

"He's with Jacqui." I say. "At least he was about 45 minutes ago. They really get along great, Gil."

"They do." Gil tells me as we head for the break room. Once we reach the door, we find the said Gareth and Jacqui, laughing over something or other, as they drink coffee. They look up as we enter.

"Hey." Jacqui says.

"Hey you two." I say. "What's so funny?"

"Oh..." Gareth begins. "Jacqui's just sharing lab stories with me."

As he tell us this, we head for some coffee. When having retrieved a mug each, we park ourselves on the couch across from my brother and Jacqui.

"In fact." He says. "Since it's Jacqui's night off, she offered to drag me out somewhere." He looks directly at me, when he says the next thing. "That way I can get out of your hair for a while." He winks as he says it, making sure that Jacqui can't see it, and I have to fight off my blush, I can feel creeping onto my cheeks.

What he means is, that he'll let Gil and I have some time alone, since we hardly have had any, all while he has been here. I suddenly have a great idea. Since I still have my place, but spend all of my time at Gil's anyway, Gareth should use my place as his base while he's here. Get him a key, so he can get in and out, without having to get a hold of me all of the time. I store that idea back in my mind, so I can suggest the arrangement later, when we leave the lab. But in the meantime I'm dragged back to the conversation, taking place in front of me.

"That sounds really great Gar." I say using the nickname from our childhood. I wasn't able able to fully pronounce Gareth, when I had to learn how to talk, so somehow he became Gar to me. That's one of the many things, which have resurfaced, over the past many days. "Then you'll actually get to see some of Las Vegas."

We are always busy at night, and in the day we usually sleeps. So thus, he haven't really seen much of Vegas, but the saucy side. Aka the crime scene he went to with me. Well, the airport, the path to the lab, and the path to and from Gil's town house, and the path to the lab. I'm glad he gets to go out with Jacqui, because she's one of the nicest people in the lab. Gar and her might just become friends, but I wouldn't have anything against it, if there will be more between them. I've voiced my opinion to Gil, and he feel the same way. But if that happens, the "more factor", she'll have to know about Gil and I eventually, so that I'll also have to talk to Gil about. While I'm contemplating in my head the two, Gar and Jacqui finishes their coffee, and while they leave the break room, Gar tosses a "see you later, sis" over his shoulder, as he follows Jacqui back to her domain. Gil gets paged, and he heads for his office to use his phone there, dragging a newly filled mug of coffee along with him. But only after signing his "I love you", in sign language, unseen of other than me, which I more than happily return to him.

I have finally started to learn a bit of sign language, since I want to be able to communicate with Gil's mother, who knows to me, when I have to meet her sometime in the future. I know she is able to lip read, but I still want to be able to sign then. It's a bit more personal than using the lip reading. It's just the basics like my name, which is now the sign for "princess", on Gar's behalf, since deaf people are known for gestures, rather than their names. It's a bit complicated having to spell out your name, every time you need to tell it to someone. I've already learned how to say "thanks", "hello", "good morning", "goodnight"... All of those basic daily terms. And of course I know how to say "I love you". It was the first thing I learned. I actually knew how to sign it, but not on the more intimate level, as when I sign it to Gil. I had the alphabet down pat after only a few hours of lessons. My own personal intimate sign gesture for Gil is touching my own left cheek with my right thumb. His personal sign for me is the sign for "beautiful". Sometimes he calls me for his "lady butterfly".

While I finish my coffee Greggo runs in and commands my attention. I follow him to see what he wants.

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**Yes more to come... But I don't know when excactly. Have patience with me.**

**As always I like the reviews.**


	17. Breakfast with my guys

**A/N: My life is getting in some somblancecontrol again, so I'm beginning to get energy again, to start to write more regulary. And that feels so good.**

**POV: Sara.**

Disclaimers: I still don't oweany known CSI character. I do owe Gareth though.

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**Chp. 17.  
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When we arrive home, as in Gil's house, I corral both of my guys for a little "family" meeting. So after preparing breakfast, we sit down at the breakfast bar.

"I've been thinking about something, spouted after your comment about something you said Gar," I look at him. "You know the thing about getting out of my hair for the night." He nods. "I also know that was your subtle way of giving Gil and I some time alone, now that Jacqui were in the room, so she wouldn't get a notion of Gil and me being together."

"That was what I tried to do." Gar grins as he nods.

"So here's what I was cooking up." I start. "I was thinking that since I spend all of my time here, leaving my place empty, you could use my place as your "home base" while your here."

"Good idea." Gil pipes up as Gar ponders that suggestion.

"It sounds fine to me." Gar says in the length. "About home bases and such... I've been thinking about making Las Vegas my home base while I'm not on assignments, since I have you here, sis. That way we'll be able to see each other, much more, the times I'm off duty." He surprised me. "I have cleared it with my boss, so I can just go ahead and find a small place, where I can have my stuff and such."

"That is so great." I excitedly exclaim and swoop in to hug him, to that laughs and hugs me back.

"I have another thing to say." He starts after that exchange of hugs. "My team is done with the job in Alaska, and has a week off, so they're coming here, just for a few days until returning to their families to visit them. They want to meet you sis."

"Excellent." I say taking a sip of my coffee. "There's another thing I've been pondering, ever since you and Jacqui mentioned your night out on town."

"What's that?" Gil asks me and Gar looks at me in question.

"I gather that you and she have become very good friends?" I ask Gar. To which he nods and I continues. "Okay then she needs to know..." I trail off as I glance at Gil, knowing that he'll be able to understand my line of thinking, just by the look in my eyes. He slowly nods his head in understanding. "She'll never tell Ecklie about us, since she hates him just as much as we do, us on the graveyard, and swing shift. Not to mention everybody else."

"She needs to know about you two?" Gar asks me just to be sure and I nod. "But how are we going to do this?" He then asks. "I mean telling Jacqui."

"How about calling her, and have her picking you up here?" Gil suggests and I look at him in surprise over his suggestion. He has never allowed any other than our friends over, since he's still adjusting to our new situation somehow. But I gather that he is ready to expand the band of friends by one. That one named Jacqui.

"That sounds like a good idea." I agree smiling as I finish my breakfast. "I trust that you have her phone number?" That question aimed at my brother.

"I do." He says as we all starts to clean up after our breakfast. "She told me to call her around 5:00 pm, so we could get more planning underway, and so she would know where to pick me up. She knows where you live of course, Sara, but I told her that I was staying somewhere else, since your place is no where near large enough for the both of us. So I'll just give her this address, when I call her later this day."

I can't wait to see the look on Jacqui's face, when she realizes where she has come to pick up Gar. She'll die of shock, on the spot, and she'll be one nervous wreck stepping inside the home of her supervisors. A very scary supervisor, when he wants to be really scary, but that is not very often. I'm so sure about that and the image in my head of that, cause me to burst out laughing. Both my guys look at me as I'm laughing, tears trailing down my cheeks. I manage to tell them about that picture and thought, all through my laughing fit and soon I have company in my hysterics. Once we have sobered up, dried our laughing tears, Gar proceeds to ruffle my hair in brotherly affection, and causes Gil to look very lovingly at me. The cleaning after our breakfast had been momentarily forgotten in our laughing fit, so we resume that task.

When we're finished, Gar says that he'll head to bed, since he's tired. He gives me a goodnight hug, and then he's off. I'm not that tired yet, nor is Gil, so we drop down on the couch, snuggling together as we hear Gar walking from his room to his bathroom, preparing for bed. Gil grabs the remote control, turns on the TV, and tunes it into the Discovery channel. After lowering the sound, so not to disturb Gar, we settle down for some relaxing. I grow tired of watching the program Gil's got engrossed in, so I reach for the news paper, brought in as we came home, to read that while Gil continues to watch the program.

There's a huge article about a solved high profile murder case, of which the swing shift is solely responsible for solving. I nudge Gil in the side, and when he looks over I shows him it, and together we share a proud glance.

"They did well." Gil praises our friends on the swing shift.

"They did very well." I have to agree. And I can't help what next escapes my mouth. "Only more ammunition we can taunt Ecklie with, whenever he gets snarky with us on the graveyard, or on the swing shift."

"Sara!" Gil fakes his surprise of my words I can tell. I look into his eyes and see a twinkle in them, and I see he is fighting to keep laughter a bay.

"What?" I tease him, showing him that I know he is faking his surprise over my taunting Ecklie. "Don't tell me that you weren't thinking exact the same thing that as I was thinking?"

"You are right." He answers me. "I was thinking exact what you were thinking. You were just the one uttering the words, that's all." He finishes and leans towards me and plants a long, affectionately kiss on my lips. When we parts he signs "I love you, my beautiful butterfly."

"I love you too." I sign back touching my left cheek. Then I reach over and touch his too, just to make my words absolutely clear to him.

After one more kiss, this one more passionately, we are both tired enough to head for bed. And so we do.

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**You bet the next chapter will be great, with Jacqui getting let into the secret.**

**Drop me a line if you'd like.**


	18. Number 7 included

**Okay here's chapter 18.**

**POV: Sara's.**

**Disclaimers: All known characters belongs to the bosses at CBS. I still owe Gareth though.**

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**Chp. 18.**

By the time the clock shows almost 5:00 pm, all three of us are up, and Gar's on the phone with Jacqui, informing her of where she can pick him up. We had a small discussion whether to invite her over for dinner, before her and Gar heads out, but in the end we decided not to.

One thing was the fact of her learning about the big secret, which undoubtedly would have her stumped. The other thing would be having her eating dinner here right after. Sure she's a tough one, but we gather it'll be better, that she wouldn't be subjected to this wining and dining, with her boss, after learning our big secret. We'll let her get used to the thought of her boss and me, her friend, being together before we start to extend dinner invitations.

We also agreed to move his things to my place tomorrow. That way he'll have this base we discussed earlier this morning, and we have to make plans for his team visiting in a couple of days. His second in command called him a little earlier, to inform him about when they'd be coming. He has cleared it with his boss, so he'll be getting two more weeks off. That way he'll have time to find a place for his stuff, he has in a storage room in San Francisco, and has it moved here to Vegas. He'll just need a small place, like mine, so he'll be able to have his base here when ever he's off for a few days between jobs. When he's away, he will have me to watch it, so he can safely leave it behind.

"Jacqui comes over at 6:30 pm." He informs Gil and me, as we prepare a small dinner.

"That sounds good." I say. "That should leave us with enough time to eat, and you to get ready."

"Can I talk to you before we eat?" He asks me a bit seriously.

"Sure." I answer a bit puzzled. "What's up?"

"It's about our past and telling her about it." He starts and I nod as I see Gil listening in on this. "I want to tell her sometime, but obviously not without your consent of course"

"I know she needs to know sometime." I agree. "I'm glad you won't say anything before you have prepared me about it. Let me know when you want to tell her okay."

"I will." He says and gives me a hug of which I return, and then we get dinner done.

Once 6:30 nears, we have finished dinner, cleared the table and Gar's ready to go out. It's also sufficient to say, that we're all very nervous about Jacqui's reaction, so once the doorbell goes, I'm almost jumping out of my own skin. As agreed I go to answer the door, not Gil, because the last thing she need is to become nervous right away. When I swing the door open, she's standing there on the doorstep, leaning slightly to the left, without a doubt reading the name plate next to the door frame. She already looks nervous and seems a bit uneasy as she sees it's me standing in the open doorway, and a bit startled to see me here, she straightened up.

"Hi Jacqui." I say calmly.

"Hi to you too Sara." She greets back and points at the name plate to the side. "Unless I'm totally wrong here, but I'm pretty sure that that name plate says that Gil Grissom lives here." When I nod in affirmation her uneasiness gets more visible. But that is soon replaced by a confused expression. "And I'm pretty sure I was to pick up Gareth, but never imagined that this place was here. So that begs the question: What are you and Gareth doing at our boss place?"

"Just come inside and we'll explain why to you." I say as I usher her inside as Gareth comes over from the couch, where he and Gil's been waiting.

"I bet you wonder why your here inside the home of your boss?" He asks her and she nods her head as she spots Gil, who makes his path to us.

"We have something to tell you that you deserve to know about, especially now you're such a good friend of my brother." I say as Gil reaches us.

"Hello Jacqui." He greets. "Don't be nervous about being here."

"I'm not. Nervous that is." She begins. "I mean I was, but now I'm more curious as to know, why I'm even picking Gareth up here.

We all wander back to sit on the couch. Jacqui sits down a little hesitant, while she looks around in the open space. Her face takes on an expression, which seems to be a mix between awe and curiosity. Awe obviously because she's at her boss place, and curiosity because she wants to know why she's even there. No one really starts anything.

"So what's this thing?" Jacqui wants to know. I look at Gil and his eyes tells me to just lay it out as it it.

"It's a huge thing, or more a huge secret, that we've been keeping for about a month." I begin. "It's so huge that Ecklie would blow if he ever finds about it, and can cause some nasty stuff to happen." I do need to say that, before I continue.

"Okay." Jacqui says. "You do know that I'd never say anything to that, pardon me here Grissom, 'bastard' right?"

"We do know, Jacqui." Gil says reassuringly to her. "I myself don't like him much. Never have, so just relax you're safe here." She nods.

"So to get to the matter at hand, and without sugar coating it also, the big secret is that about a month ago, Grissom and I got together." That bomb dropped us three, Gil, Gar and I, watch her closely for her reaction.

Her reaction comes promptly, as her face takes on an expression of shock, her jaw drops and her eyes widens in surprise. She looks at all three of us, one at a time, as the news seems to have been allowed the twirl inside her head, is now settling roots in there. Then she shakes her head before looking at her boss.

"Really?" She asks as if she needs for it be confirmed by him. "You two have been together a month roughly."

"Yes we have, Jacqui." He says.

"Wow." She exclaims.

"I know it might be a lot to handle." I say. "And believe me, we wouldn't have told you already, but given that you and my brother have become friends, we didn't want to hide it from you. So this morning after shift, we decided that you should be told today."

"It's a lot to take in, but once I have digested it fully, I should be okay." Jacqui says. "It isn't everyday, after all, that your friend and coworker, tells you that she's involved with you boss. Especially when you haven't even got any vide of attraction between the two."

"Well." Gil starts. "We been good at hiding it from each other, or as we've found out this past month, we thought we were hiding it from each other at least for years literally."

"It's complicated." I say since poor Jacqui looks confused by Gil's explanation. "Let's just say that we knew about the attraction, but we were both to stubborn and too scared to act upon it."

"We were both very talented in hiding it from both each other, and from the world around us." Gil continues. And that we were good at for almost 14 years."

"14 years!" Jacqui exclaims as she starts to waver her hand from Gil to me and then back again. "You two have known each other for 14 years?"

"Yes we have known each other for 14 years. Or more 13, since we only started to talk then. But we saw each other, for the first time, 14 years ago." I say. "14 years ago Gil was holding a lecture at Harvard where I went. Our meeting then only consisted of him asking a question and my answering said question. But even that brief, very brief, interaction carved our future in a stone, because the next year Gil returned for a new seminar, to which I attended, and we finally got to talk. Let's just say that neither of us had forgotten the other."

Jacqui had just been listening through it all. I noticed her eyes widen when I called her boss for Gil, then to turn normal just as quick again, apparently reminding herself about, the her boss do have a first name, and remembered that it's Gil, and it isn't Grissom.

"So now that's all that said." Gil begins. "When we're at the lab, you don't have to worry about me acting different towards Sara, now that we're romantically involved."

"I know you won't Grissom." Jacqui says. "You two wouldn't let that occur. I know you too good, to even doing that."

"You got that right." I say smiling.

"Because then the 'bastard' Ecklie would know in a flash." Jacqui says harshly, but then looks a bit alarmed. "About those who knows here, is it only me who know or does the guys also know? I bet they do since they're your friends."

"They do." Gil answers. "So far you're let into the tight knitted group of 6 to know, you'd be number 7, of those who know about us. These people are Catherine, Warrick, Nick, Greg, Al Robbins, and Jim Brass."

"That'll be the scattered team, thanks to Ecklie the bastard." Jacqui spats a bit angry. "Okay, I just needed to know, since I don't want to screw up, and let your giant secret slip to someone who really doesn't need to know." Jacqui says.

"We'll in turn let the gang know, that we'd told you, so they have nothing to worry about either." I say.

"Good." Jacqui says. "I'm happy for you two. I really am."

"Thank you for that." Gil says smiling.

"And I just want to say this, since I haven't said it before to any of you." She begins. "I'm so sorry about Ecklie splitting up your team. You all work to great together, so it's such a shame your not together anymore. That was why my comment earlier." She says in sincerity.

"Thanks Jacqui." I say. "We miss Cath, Nick, and Warrick so much."

"Ecklie splitting up the team is just his way of taunting me, now that he is fully able to taunt me." Gil says. "So thank you for your concern Jacqui."

After that is said, we settle for some lighter chatting, but at 7:30 pm Gar and Jacqui heads for the door, since some of Jacqui's friends will be meeting them somewhere. After goodbyes Gil and I have about three hours, before we have to report to the lab.

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**I had some troubles with this chapter, written it I got though, but I'm not that sure about it.**

**Drop me a note if you please...**


	19. In flight

**A/N: I nearly hated writing this chapter, since it was so difficult. Sometimes I thought to skip this part of the story completely, but then I pushed myself and got the typing going.It's not in it's best, but that was all I could do. **

**POV: Sara**

**Disclaimers: CSI's still property of CBS. Gar and his team is my own made-up characters though.**

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**Chp. 19.**

Three days later I'm entering the airport, with Gar in tow, after having had the night off. His team of 5 will be touching down, flying in from Alaska, in about 20-30 minutes, so were in good time. We've going back to Gil's in a larger rented van so we're able to accommodate everyone, so we don't have to commute in two cars. That way Gar have it at his use the days his team will be here. I was told by him that the team consists of two women and four men, and that is included him. Aside for the van, Gar rented two rooms on a hotel, not long from Gil's town house. We'll be getting a bite to eat, once we arrive. Gil's in charge of that, bringing breakfast home after shift. To pass the time, we head for a coffee shop. We get our coffee to go, since we need to find out, at what gate the Alaskan passengers will come out at. So after studying a large screen, announcing arrivals, we find the gate number, and learn that the plane is 15 minutes late, we walk calmly to the gate since we're in no sort of rush now. When we reach the gate area, waiting people stands around, as they waits for family members, friends, buisness connections, or other, but we manage to find two empty seats in the sea of people.

"So you basically fly into some airport inside the US boarder." I start to sum up what my brother told on the way here. "Then arriving here, you all split up and head each your way."

"Yes, that is exactly we do." Gar says from next to me. "I sometimes do have to report back to our boss, in person, if he wants a debriefing in person. If not I head straight to my base, then send my report over the great email system from there. Albeit sometimes we all have to report to the headquarter all of us, but that's only after the more complicated and harder jobs."

"So this heading to see the boss, it will be the first time for your second in command?" I need to know.

"That's right." He says. "But Leo will do well, since I have faith in him."

We sit in silence as we drink our coffee. When the announcement of the plane landing safely, we know it'll take some time for them to emerge, so while I find a place to deposit our empty paper cups, Gar stands alert as he spies for his team. I walk back to his side, just as thin trails of people emerge from around a corner, dragging luggage and carry-on stuff behind them. Some of them heads for their family, some heads for their friends, some just keep on going, connections are picked up, and other buisness people heads for limo drivers, waving signs in the air, telling that they are here for either Mr. This, or Ms. That. We even hear some people speaking Russian, and then assume they came from Russia, did a layover in Alaska, and then continued their trek.

"Ah, there they finally come." Gar says and motions towards five people rounding the corner, one by one, dragging duffel bags, small soft sport bags and just general carry-on stuff over their shoulders.

Gar told me that all of their gear is packed into boxes and will be in the cargo area of the plane. So even before the team can scatter, they need to go have it sorted out and made sure it reaches the company for checking and restocking. If there are explosives left, it's left at the scene of the implosion, and then it's taken care of by the military. Company rules say never to travel with high explosives.

A little while later we're all assembled at Gil's house, where we're eating the breakfast he brought home, after he had finished the shift. Gar's team is an interesting mix of people, who comes from all over the US with one Canadian, Jerry from Toronto, thrown into the mix. There's Leo and his female cousin Nicki from Chicago, the other woman on the team Winnie from Seattle, and last but not least Fred from Ford Lauderdale.

They're a great team. I sensed from the beginning that they're very close, and knows each other to the bone. They've been together as a team for a very long time, and because they spend weeks at a time, together on their job, so I gather that the closeness comes easily, as well as trusts each other without doubts. I bet it also helps doing their jobs, since one tiny mistake in connecting the explosives the right way, can cause disaster out of known proportions.

Somehow that reminds me of our team before Ecklie split us up. It's something I really miss, but on the other hand, this last month, we've begun to find each other again, all eight of us and that is such a relief. In some absurd way, me revealing my secret, and Gil and I revealing us finally getting together, was the thing making this happening occur.

"Sara?" I am brought out of my thoughts by Gil, who sits besides me, and nudges me in the ribs.

"Yes." I say looking at him.

"You okay?" He asks me with a frown etching his forehead.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why?" I ask him.

"You just looked to be miles away." He answers me.

"I was just thinking." I say. "About how great the last month has been, with all of our friends finding together again."

"I know what you mean, Sweetheart." He says slipping his arm around my shoulder. "I've missed them too." He squeezes my shoulder then leans to kiss my temple, before releasing my shoulder again. "Does anyone want more coffee or another bite to eat?" He asks the whole table.

The general answer is no, since everybody is tired and needs to get to a bed. That means that the breakfast session is halted. It's already agreed that Gil will stay home, so he can get some sleep. Gar and I will run the others to their hotel; then we'll go out shopping for a big dinner, for all of us, much later today. I also need a small nap, since I'll be going to work this evening. After Gil and I have loaded the dish washer, only used in these big events with lots of dishes, Gar takes his team to the van, leaving me to say goodbye to Gil in privacy.

"So I'll see you later?" Gil asks me huskily, while slipping his arms around my waist, as he pulls me closer to his front.

"Yes you will." I match his tone of voice, as I wrap my arms around his neck. We hug each other tightly, stands there for a while, and then we kiss each other with passion, before I rest my forehead against his, while we both catch our breaths. I can hardly believe how much I love this man; I'm now looking into the deep blue eyes off. I'm momentarily lost in them, but suddenly reality sneaks itself into my brain.

"I better go." I say reluctantly as I pull back, but still with my arms around Gil's neck.

"Yes." Gil says as his left arm leaves its place around my waist. He uses the hand on said arm, to brush my hair around my ear. "I'll let you go, even though I don't want you to go." He says that in his tender tone of voice, and then draws me in for a parting kiss.

Once we've let go of each other go, and I have reached the front door, I turn around and does what we have taken to do when parting, and no other is around. I sign that I love him, and he signs that he loves me back, and then I'm finally out of the door. When I reach Gar and his team, who's still not in the van, he's wearing a teasing smile.

"So there you finally are." He says to me. "I was just about to come in there to get you." He pretends to think then he winks at me. "But getting in there, I'm sure would have put a picture in my head; I'd rather not have of my little sister."

"Then I'm glad you didn't go in there." I say feeling myself flush by what he tries to insinuate. "For the record, don't get any funny pictures in your head of him and me, big brother. In no way possibly, I may add." I warn him, since he really doesn't need to get any funny pictures of Gil and me. Let alone thinking in that direction. Would I think about him and some girl that way? Nope, since the mere though just make me sick to my stomach.

We all piles into the van after that, and after we've dropped Gar's team off at the hotel, we start our shopping trip.

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**A/N 2: I might get a chapter down per week, since it's getting a bit more difficult to find the imagination. Maybe I'm putting this on hold, at least for some time, until I have some more stuff to work with. I'll let you know what I decide to do.**

**A little note, please!**


	20. Destination: San Francisco

**A/N 1: Apparently the very last statement, in my last chapter (19), didn't have to be made. Because as I had posted that chaper, and I was trying to sleep that night, inspiration suddenly had me wide awake. I really had to fight with myself not to get up, and start typing this new chapter. I only filed it away in my memory, so I could type it up much, much later on. And so I did, albeit it's short, and with no dialog. I'm merely summing up a whole day somehow.**

**POV: Sara again.**

**Disclaimers: They still belongs to TPTB aka the bosses as CBS. Gareth is still mine though.**

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**Chp. 20.**

The next week flew by, and Gars team had come and left again. We had a case load over the average, so almost every waking hour was spend at the lab, until the final break came and we could all breathe normal again. We even had to call on Nick, Catherine, and Warrick for helping us out. In the mean time, I had found time to help Gar finding a place. So now all there was left was for him, was to get his stuff here from San Francisco. He had finally told Jacqui about our childhood, and that's with my blessing of course. She never really said out loud that she was sorry about our childhood, or said something out of compassion. She only caught me in the locker room on day, where she gave me an enormous hug, and I knew that that was her way of telling me silently, that she felt for Gar and me.

I had never really thought of going all the way to San Francisco, to get his stuff, but per Gars request here I was. We had brought both Gil and Jacqui, and the latter had been surprised when being invited to come along. We had agreed to fly out, and then rent a truck, large enough to fit all of the stuff, and then drive back. That way we saved a lot of driving time there.

Gar and I had also talked serious about one matter, and that matter had been if we should go visit our father's grave. That way we figured that we could get a closure on it all, so we could get on with both of our lives. We would also look the beast in the eyes and see the old B&B where we grew up, and show Gil and Jacqui Tamales Bay. Gil and I also want to visit the old lab. I haven't been there once, ever since transferring to Las Vegas, but I'm still in contact with one of them there, so he knows I'll be coming and will meet us in the lobby. So here we are exiting San Francisco airport, heading to the rental car area of said airport, then we're off to the hotel where we've rented three rooms. We have almost three days here. The rest of this Friday, all of Saturday and Sunday, then we'll head back Monday morning, so we'll be ready for the shift that night.

Later after checking in, we meet in the hall, and head for the car. Since it's just after noon, Gil and I will head to the lab, and Gar and Jacqui will head to his base. They'll pick up a few boxes on the way, so they can pack his stuff up and be ready for loading late Sunday. He says there's only for a few boxes, since the rest is in storage. His place is basically only a one room, with a small bathroom. All of his clothes are easy to pack up along with everything else, so Gar and Jacqui can easily manage that task alone. We decide that Gar and Jacqui takes the car, since Gar's place is farter away than the lab is. So after goodbyes, Gil and I hop onto a cable car, heading in the direction of the San Francisco Crime Lab.

Some hours later we leave the San Francisco Crime Lab again, grinning with amusement of our visit there. Apparently the rumor mill had run in over gear, saying that the two crime scene investigators from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, with the hugest solve rate would come. Not to mention one of the country's only entomologists, so nearly everyone was in attendance, wanting to see us, but not that that was necessary. I know that Gil is the reason, as to why the Las Vegas Crime Lab was pulled up to be number 2 Crime Lab, and they'd never let him go. I'm the one lucky to be there, and I know I was envied when I was called to help Gil out, and even more envied when I was headhunted, if you can call it that, to work in Vegas, albeit both Gil and I sort of had our own secret agendas, aside of the task of me just working there.

As we hopped onto a cable car, heading back to the hotel, I called Gar from my cell phone, to hear how far he and Jacqui had gotten in the packing up department. As it turns out they need a bit more time, so we just decided to meet up in the hotel dining room at 7:00 pm, meaning that Gil and I had about three and a half hours just to be ourselves. Both Gil and I knew how that time would be spent: Namely in bed without any clothes on our bodies, spending some much charged energy, building over the week that we just had, with hardly any energy to do much else than sleep, once we reached the bed.

Turns out we've missed each other deeply, so we've hardly closed the door to the hotel room, before a frantic battle with both passions and clothes begins. Once we have ridden each other for clothes, we fall onto the bed and kiss frantically, hands roaming all over each others bodies. Damn I've missed this I muse, while Gils hand slides up my right thigh, and slowly reaches the center of my heat, nearly driving me crazy in the process. Once it has reached its much wanted destination, it's the most wonderful feeling of this entire week.

Later, with the charged energy spend with much pleasure and passion; I'm laying on my stomach resting, as Gil drops very small airy butterfly kisses down my spine. I can't help the sigh escaping my lips, by his lips gentle touches on my skin, and I hear him chuckle, as his last two kisses lands on each of my butt cheeks. That makes me giggle a bit, as he comes to drop a kiss my temple too. He then tells me he has missed me, so very much this week, and I tell him that I've missed him so very much too. We lay there for the reminder of the time, until it's time for us to get ready. To save time we share a shower, and soon we're both ready to head down to the dining room.

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**A/N 2: So given this chapter, I might end up spouting out another chapter this week. I don't suppose that people have anything against that?**

**So what do you think?**


	21. Tamales Bay pt I: Father Dearest

**A/N 1: By golly... Here's another chapter in the space of only a few days. My Muse have evidently returned in more than full force, which I don't mind at all. **

**POV: Sara**

**Disclaimers: Look for them in chapter 20.**

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**Chp. 21.**

We enter Tamales Bay around noon, and we head straight for the graveyard. Knowing that I'm about to face my fathers grave, having had my stomach in knots since I woke up this morning. I'm in such a shape, that I'm not able to drive, so that task is left to Gar, with Jacqui beside him in the front. Gil and I sit in the back, him holding my hand as we pass a lot of buildings and streets that I remember from my childhood. Once outside the graveyard, Gar turns off the car, before us all gets out. When we reach the entrance, Gar turns towards me, and I know we need to lay out a plan, as to how to get through this. I really don't know how, but as always somehow, Gil anticipates this, and he takes his hand in mine.

"Why don't Jacqui and I go with you, and then we leave you to it once we have reached the destination?" He suggests.

The only thing that I can manage right now is to nod weakly, and I look at my brother to see what he thinks of it. I can detect an equal queasiness in his eyes as I look into them. Jacqui puts her hand softly on his upper arm, and he looks into her hesitant smiling face. After that he looks at me and finally nods his head. I can see that nod is just as weak as mine was. It's agreed then, but before entering the graveyard gate, we siblings give each other a hug of encourage. Gil takes my hand, and I notice Jacqui's hand slips quietly into Gar's. I only notice because he looks down at their joined hands in surprise, and then he looks up into her eyes. She just gives him a smile, as to assure him that she there with him. Then the procession is set in gear, as Gar and Jacqui takes the lead.

I know exactly where our father is buried here since I haven't forgotten that. It's strange since the last time I visited his grave, was just after I graduated much earlier from high school, and I had been about to go to Boston, just so I could get away from the memories. Sure my last foster home had been in the very outskirts of San Francisco, just before you got on the road leading to Tamales Bay and the terrifying memories. My memory of the path to the grave though, isn't even hazy in my mind, and I'm very puzzled by that. But then again, being forced going to the funeral of your murdered father, who was murdered by your own mother no less, even if you didn't wanted to be there, had to leave its foot prints in you memory somehow, so therefore also the path to the grave, even if you was looking down all the time you were there. After a short walk we were there, staring in disbelief at the tombstone with an inscription, some unknowing moron had put onto it:

Maxwell Rupert Sidle

Born 1947 – Died 1984

Beloved husband and father

I couldn't help snort by that inscription: _"Beloved husband and father?"_ Yeah right. I could hear Gar say something similar, and I looked up into my brothers eyes, and I'm sure the look of disgust on his face, was mirrored by my facial expression. I also caught the tender look that Jacqui gave him. I finally looked at the man I love, and his facial expression bore a mix of both love, concern, worry, and maybe a touch of pride. Without a word, he gave me a big hug, and then went to get Jacqui, who gave Gar a small squeeze too. Together the two of them stepped back, so we siblings could have some time alone at our fathers' grave.

"_Our father's grave?"_ Now that is really an ironic thing. Given that he was a lapse hippie, and had sworn never to be buried in a cemetery. He had wanted to be cremated, and his ashes strewn all over Tamales Bay. Take that, _dear_ father. I could see that Gar was thinking similar things. We didn't need to communicate with each other, since there were no needs for it. We opted to just stand close together, arms around each other backs, as we looked at the grave of the man, who made our childhoods a living nightmare most of the times.

I've often wondered if I could ever forgive him, and strangely I feel that I can, but I will never be able to forget about it. Not completely, since it's so ingrown in my memory, and it still affects my daily life. I also know that I still both love him, and hate him at the same time. I know that Gar feels the same, since we had a conversation about it, even before we left for this trip. Somehow I wish I could tell him how much of a bastard he was, but no amount of words would ever be able to cover it all. I did feel the need to utter something, on the behalf of us both.

"Yes father we forgive you, but don't expect us to ever forget." I say. "Don't you ever expect us to forget how miserable you made all of our lives, and even though we hate the living daylights out of you, we also love you all the same. You were our father, our flesh and blood, and that's always thicker than anything else. We've both gone on with our lives, good lives that bring us joy and happiness. We hope that you can see that."

Well I knew the reason to my happiness, which happened to the man standing about 20 yards away. I looked into the sad eyes of my brother, and suddenly felt the need to make sure that he is happy, so I decided to be blunt and ask him a question.

"Do you love Jacqui?" I ask him in a lowered voice. He gives me a startled look, before turning his head towards the woman in question, who smiles at him. She's wearing a look in her eyes, one I'm quite familiar with being around her and my brother.

"Yes I do." He answers me, with a slow shy smile, as his eyes returns to me.

"Then go tell her." I encourage him. "And yes she loves you too; I can see it so clearly in her eyes when she looks at you. Don't wait ages to tell her, and before you object, you do know that I speak of experience in the 'wait to tell' department." He studies my face for a moment, and then sighs.

"Okay I'll tell her." He says as he draws me in for a hug. "Thanks Princess."

"You're welcome, Knight in shining armor." I say as I hug him back. After releasing each other, I turn him around. "No go to her and send Gil my way." I give him a gentle push towards the two waiting people. He obeys and soon I'm joined by Gil, just as Gar tells us we should meet at the car.

I see my brother leading Jacqui towards the exit, or rather the gate we entered, with his hand joined with hers, and now it's hers turn to look a bit startled. I smile at the sight and Gil follows my line of sight, and then looks back to me.

"What's up?" He asks me as he pulls me closer to him.

"I gave Gar a push in the right direction, as in telling Jacqui that he loves her." I answer him. "So now he will do just that. That was why he took her outside, and away from here."

"That was good." He says as he smiles, but that smile morphs into a concerned facial expression. "So how is it standing here?"

"It's weird since I haven't been her since the summer I was 16." I answer him. "That was just before I left for Harvard, and I somehow need to see his grave before I left. But it's also cleansing in every way."

"How is this cleansing?" Gil asks me.

"Well, we just told him that we forgive him, but will never forget." I start. "We also told him that no matter how much we hate him, for messing up our lives, we also love him just as much, since he was our father."

"Good for the both of you." Gil praises with his pride for me written all over his face. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." I just say.

"You are welcome, Honey." He tells me before I turn back to my father's grave again.

"Father, this is Gil, he's the source of my happiness, and the love of my life." I say as a way of introduction. It's silly, but I need my father to really know, that I'm happy. "You have now met him and this moment here, will probably be the only time that you him."

With that final statement, I suddenly need to get the heck away from here. Gil must have sensed that, because he takes my hand and starts to lead me towards the gate. We reach the car, just as our companions do.

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**Now you probablyask: "What about the loose end called Gareth and Jacqui?" Well not to worry, I'll get to that in the next chapter.**

**A note please... **


	22. Tamales Bay pt II: Old Haunts

**A/N: I accomplished something verygreatwriting this chapter: I got it to be the longest chapter ever, holding over 2000 words, and I was even writing on page 4 in my word document. That is big stuff for me.**

**POV: Still Sara.**

**Disclaimers: All known CSI characters still belongs to CBS. Gareth and all of the Lowell family, you'll know who they are after reading, belongs to me.**

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**Chp. 22.**

Tamales Bay holds not even 2000 citizens, not a lot of buildings, so we're through showing it to Gil and Jacqui very quickly. We do show them the tiny schools we went to, before all that stuff happened. Since it's a very small bay area tourist town, everybody knew each other then, and knew of what was happening with everybody, but by some miracle, no one knew of the horror happening in the Sidle household. Not until that night, when police and an ambulance pulled up to our house, and later the coroners also arrived. Not much has changed. There are a few new houses, a new fishing store; building has been renovated, as has the small village hall, as well as the only hotel.

Evidently the old B&B has also gone through a change. It has been renovated, painted in new colors and the garden areas have gone through a few changes too, but it's still used as a B&B says the sign at the entrance to the driveway.

But all the same, I could deduct, as we stood in the drive way facing it. Or we were facing the part of the B&B, which took guests, was right ahead, and the small owner house was a small path away to the left. It's not visible from where we are standing, since trees obstruct the view, just as they did back then. The main house of the B&B is basically one large mansion, with the staff quarter converted into the owner's quarter.

Gar and I are standing side by side, with our loves beside us, or so I hope for Gar, since I haven't had a chance to ask him, how it went telling Jacqui that he love her. But they're holding hands, so I suppose that it went over well. We haven't been this close to the old B&B since that day; we came here after the funeral of our father, and were packing up our rooms. We were first placed in on foster home; well it was more of a group home, a middle station for kids for a few days, until coming to a real foster home.

Our case worker demanded that we were placed in the same foster home, our foster parents were Wesley & Marjorie Lowell, and they were the ones taking us to the funeral. It was them who went with me to see the grave, and did ask me if I wanted them to drive by the B&B, but at that time I couldn't handle it so I declined. I'm still in contact with them, so maybe next time we're out in San Francisco, I should drop by. The last time I saw them was after my DUI, where I went out to visit them for a small vacation. They are, beside Gar and the guys at the lab, the only ones I have that remotely resembles family to me, since I lived with Wes and Mary from the day I was put there at 12 years old, and until the day I turned 18. Even if I resented them when coming to live with them, I did end up loving them, since they provided a home for us, where no one had to be scared, when someone raised their voices. It took some time but eventually I started to feel safe, and let them get close to me. I'm brought out of my thoughts by Gil as he squeezes my hand.

"You okay?" He asks me. I notice that Gar and Jacqui has moved a bit away.

"I don't know yet." I say as truth is. "I haven't been standing here, since I was 12 years old, seeing police cars and an ambulance sitting here, before being whisked into this van, clutching the hand of that lady who accompanied Gar and me to the group home, and clinging to my brother with the other." I say. "Wes and Mary offered to drive by, after we had been to my father's grave, but I couldn't handle that at age 16."

I had told Gil about Wes and Mary, the week after I had told him about my secret, and he had seen pictures of the two people, who took a pair of scared siblings in, and made them a part of a caring loving family, with some grown up college aged foster siblings. Our foster brother Marcus "Marc" was 19, our foster sister Allison "Ally" were 24. Finally there was our second foster sister, Cassandra "Cassie", who was 21, and the adopted daughter of Wes and Mary, after starting out as their foster daughter aged 7.

"You were lucky to have Wes and Mary." Gil says to me.

"I was lucky." I agree. "It made me think, that we should have made time to see them, now we're in San Francisco. I know that they would be happy to meet you, and see Gar again no less. But seeing that we'll use all day tomorrow, to pack up Gars stuff, we have no time to go." I say sadly.

"Hey, we can always come out again, whenever Gar has some free time next." Gil says seeing my sadness. He pulls me into a hug, just as Gar and Jacqui comes back.

"What the matter sis?" Gar asks when seeing me in Gil's arms.

"Umm, I was just thinking about Wes and Mary." I start. "I was thinking that we should have made time for a visit."

"I was thinking that same, just a few minutes ago." Gar says squeezing my shoulder. "Then I thought that the next time I'm home, we could all four come back out to see them."

"Gil was just saying the same thing when I told him." I say.

Jacqui stands beside Gar looking lost.

"Who are Wes and Mary?" She asks at length, and Gar shakes his head, in a sign of his lack of elaborating.

"That was our foster parents, Wesley and Marjorie Lowell, who took us in and made us a part of their lives, after spending a few days in a group home." He starts to explain. "We got three grown up foster siblings too. One brother and two sisters named Marc, Ally, and Cassie."

"That was very different not feeling like walking on eggshells all the time." I say.

"I'm glad you got a good home." Jacqui says. "So I take it they still live in San Francisco?"

"Yes they do." Gar says, and then he looks at me. "So, you up to see the house? Or are you not up to that, it's your own choice."

The knot in my stomach, the one I have had in there since this morning, suddenly grows with an alarming rate. I'm suddenly scared witless. I thought that I could easily go see the house, with no problems, but all I want now is flee, and I know exactly to where. I look up into my brother's eyes, and I can see the scared 15 year old boy there, and I also know to where he wants to flee to. Reading right I nod in understanding, as we both starts to cry, and falls into the others arms. As we cling to each other, crying, I faintly feel Gils hand caressing the small of my back soothingly. I don't know how long we're standing there, crying into each others shoulders, since I have no recollection on it. Once we are done, and have somewhat let go of each other. Instead we find the arms of our better half, and cling to them instead. I look over at Gar in Jacqui's arms, finding his eyes and make a small indication with my own eyes at Gar to her, as if asking if she loved him too. He mouths a "yes", and I smile a bit faintly. Yes I was right, Jacqui loved him too. I bring my attention back to the man holding tightly me in his soothing arms, and let myself being as contend as I can be given our location.

"Let's go to the hideout instead." I say over Gils shoulder when I'm composed again, and it's aimed at Gar.

"Let do that." He agrees. "Let's hope it's still there. And not blocked off."

So without words, and not explain this "hideout", to our companions, Gar takes Jacqui's hand in his and leads the way. It goes through a small well-known path, on the right side of the B&B, and leads down to the shore. Turning right there, we walk a few minutes, before turning to see a small wooden shed, which was there also when we were kids, and it's amazing it's till holding up, even if it leans precariously to the left, all ready to fall over. Bit it's not the shed we want, it's what hides behind it. We walk around it to the right, not wanting to be knocked accidentally down by a molded shed, if we take the path to the left of it. When we stop on the back side of it, we look at the open entrance of "our hideout". It's a small cave we called "our hideout".

We explain to Gil and Jacqui, that this cave was the place we went to, when ever it was really bad at home, and we couldn't stand it there. Often Gar would go to friend's houses to sleep, but most times he would grab me, something to drink and eat, and then we would go here to stay for the night, and sleeping close to each other, in sleeping bags we kept there. We could easily go without the food, if we had to get out of the house fast, but sleeping in coldness we could not, so therefore the sleeping bags. Our parents never knew to this place, since Gar found it exploring, and since they were loose in keeping track off what we was doing, or where we went, they never went to look for us. As long as we came home and got ready for school. I always did due to that the school was my sanctuary. That was the reason for them never finding us here, and even if they found the shed, she'd never know to the cave behind it. The first time we ended out here, Gar had grabbed my hand, when hell broke loose, and ushered me out the door and then leading me down here. He was about ten, and I was almost seven. After a brief stay inside the cave, only we siblings, we all went back to the car, getting inside it we headed back to San Francisco, and the hotel.

At the hotel, we ate a small dinner and exhausted by the day's events, we retired to our rooms. Gar pulled a sheepish red-faced Jacqui with him into his room, and no one questioned this choice. I refused to think more about it, as Gil and I took off our clothes, and lowered ourselves into the bath tub to relax from the day. As we soaked there, we talked the day and it's events over. Later after drying off we crawled into the bed, settling into each others arms.

"I'm proud of you." Gil says to me.

"You always say that." I say and indeed he does.

"Well I am." He says determinately. "And I'll keep telling you that, since you need to hear it. I'm especially proud of you after today."

"Thanks." That's the only thing I can say to that. "And thanks for coming with us today, it means a lot to me."

"Anytime, Honey." He says as his. "I'd go with you to wherever you want me to."

I almost choke hearing these words from my love. Never have I heard any other guy, I've been with, say such a sweet thing to me. It's so romantic. I look into his eyes, trying to convey the happiness I feel by his sweet promise, but can't put into words.

"I love you more than anything in this world." I only say. "Do you know that?"

"Yes I know that, my love." He tells me. "I love you just as much." He caresses my back as he tell me that. "I hope you know that too Honey."

"Yes I do, sweetie." I say as I kiss his bare chest.

After that we kiss goodnight, settles into each other, and slowly drifts off to sleep.

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**A/N 2: You got the Gareth/Jacqui situation resolved.  
A/N 3: Okay, only one more chapter, and then I'm done with the San Francisco visit. After that I can continue with stuff happeningin Las Vegas.  
A/N 4: One asked about Laura Sidle, and not to worry, I have a plan in works about how tohandle that situation. Be patient, because it'll be there somehow in a future chapter. I can't say when though, since it depends on future chapters, and how things evolves.**

**Reviews please.**


	23. Heading back home to Las Vegas

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Life caught up with me for a moment there. Again! **

P.O.V: Sara once again.

**Disclaimers: You already know the drill by now I suppose. They're not mine except for Gareth.**

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**Chp. 23.**

The next morning I woke up, spooned against Gil and engulfed in his embrace, having not slept that well. My sleep had been filled with bad dreams about my childhood. It had been those of my father hitting my mother, hearing the screams in my dream too, and pictures of Gareth and me running to our hideout, and at one point I woke up sobbing waking up Gil in the process. He was so sweet and he made me tell him about my nightmare, talking it out so to speak, and then he did what he could do to comfort me, while whispering loving words as I drifted off to sleep again. It was scary because I hadn't had any nightmares, since I started to sleep in the arms of Gil. Everything had come rushing into my mind, after seeing my father's grave, and seeing the old haunts again.

I'm jolted out of my thoughts, as Gils hand starts caressing my bare shoulder, alerting me of the fact, that he's awake too. I sigh as I turn around in his grasp and that done, I'm met with his tousled appearance, and blue eyes bleary from sleep. When my eyes meet his, there's a look of concern in them, as he removes a strand of my hair from my face, then he cups my face with said hand.

"Hi." He runs his thumb along my cheekbone as he says that.

"Hey." I only say enjoying his caresses.

"Slept alright?" He asks me.

"Yes I finally did." I nod a bit as I say this.

"That's great." He says. "It wasn't funny waking up to your thrashing around. You really had me scared there."

"That was how it was, before I started to sleep in your arms, Sweetie." Gil knows about the nightmares, and reason why they stopped, so I need not to explain. "I believe everything came back to me, because we went to Tamales Bay yesterday."

"I believe so." He says kissing my forehead.

Just then my cell phone beeps to let me know that I have a text message. Gil lets go of me, and I roll around to grab it from the nightstand. After looking at the display, I point to it and mouth "Gareth" to Gil who nods.

"_Sara, Jacqui and I were just talking about breakfast. Why don't we meet in the dining hall in about half an hour? Love Gareth." _

"He and Jacqui want to know, if breakfast in an hour and a half is okay?" I asks Gil with a big smile, brought forth by the "us" factor he uses in regard of him and Jacqui.

"That sounds suitable." Gil says in agreement, as I flop onto my stomach, and then starts to type my reply back.

"_Gareth, I just asked Gil, and we both think sounds like a good plan. We'll meet you both downstairs in an hour and a half. Love Sara" _

Half an hour later Gil and I, hand in hand, walks into the dining room. Once we've spotted our two companions, and the makes our way to them. Gar and Jacqui is sitting close to one another, and she has her arm around him. Both of them looking a bit worse for the wear, but the one looking the worst of the two, was indeed my brother. I guess that he didn't sleep that well either. When Gil and I arrived at their table, they both looked up at us, and put on different facial expressions. Gareth put on a look of concern, when his eyes fell on my face, where as Jacqui's took on an expression of embarrassment, as her eyes collided with the one of her boss. She was clearly still a bit uneasy, about being around her boss outside of work. So when this _"being around the boss outside of work",_ happened to be at a hotel in San Francisco, and not somewhere in Vegas, not really used to it yet this has to be a bit weird. Gil just smiled at her as Gareth pulled out of her grasp, and came around the table to me, where he pulled me into a hug. Gil let go of my hand, and sat down in a chair, across fro Jacqui.

"Did you have nightmares?" He asks me. I nod for a yes. "I had nightmares too."

"I dreamt about the house, about the screams, hitting, and us running to the hideout." I say as we pull away from each other.

"That was what I was dreaming about too." He tells me. "But I'm okay now. Jacqui and I talked it through, and then I was able to sleep again."

After hearing that I glance at Jacqui, noticing that Gil does the same, and when she notices her boss glance, her face turns almost purple of embarrassment. When Gil pats her hand, she looks down shyly. Neither Gil nor I feel like chuckle over her behavior, but my brother lets out a tiny chuckle, takes his place beside her again, and slips his arm around her shoulder. He says something we can't here to her, then she nods and he kiss her temple. That causes her to blush again, as she shrugs and shakes her head over her own behavior. When I have taken my seat a waiter comes over. He hands us some menus. Digging out his little notepad, from his breast pocket, he takes orders from us of what we wants to drink. That task done, he leaves us to peruse our menus, and to decide what we want for breakfast. I open my menu, flip to the breakfast section, and try to decide what I want.

That late afternoon I'm carrying a box of Gars stuff, from his small place, to this small truck we have rented. We have been by his storage room, to empty that out, so now we're here, emptying this place out, and loading the truck, so we'll be ready to leave early tomorrow. We need to get home, so we'll be ready for our shift tomorrow night.

The boys take the more heavy stuff, like the bed, the dresser, the couch, a few tables and the closets. Us girls takes the light stuff, as in boxes, chairs etc, everything that we can take on single handedly handle or take on together. We're done in an hour, so after that we decide to head back to the hotel. We have already from home decided, that we would head out for dinner, on our last night in San Francisco, so we have packed us some fancy dinner related clothes, except for Gareth who had his fancy clothes at his place. So when we steps into the hotel lobby, he is carrying the garment bag, in where his suit is. We had to inspect it, since it hasn't been in use for a long time, and the suit looked no worst for the closet waiting. We have about an hour, before we need to get ready, so we use that one for relaxation, resting our bodies from the haul of moving.

Three hours later we're all seated inside the restaurant, going through the main course. Gil looks absolutely gorgeous in his suit, Gareth looks dazzling, and Jacqui looks absolutely stunning in her dress. I'm sure that my brother's already told her that she looks beautiful. When Gil had told her that she looks stunning, she had smiled shyly as she quietly said: "Thanks Grissom." She must be getting over being awkward around him, and not blushing madly, whenever my brother gives her affection in public, as in front of Grissom her boss mostly.

After eating our desserts, I spot the dance floor, at the same time Gil does. I suddenly have an urge to dancing, so I look pleadingly at Gil, trying to convey what I want, without having to make it obvious by open my mouth. He apparently get my silent pleading, because he stands up.

"Care to join me on the dance floor, Ms. Sidle?" He asks holding out his right hand.

"Indeed I do, Mr. Grissom." I say smiling slipping my left hand into his. He gently pulls me to my feet and then leads the way to the dance floor. I look over my shoulder, only to see that Gareth follows Gil's lead, as he stands up and holds his hand towards Jacqui. A few seconds after Gil and I have reached the dance floor, we are joined by Gareth and Jacqui.

The band plays some soft jazz, and I settle comfortably into the arms of Gil, and we sway softly to the low beat. After a few songs, Gar taps Gils shoulder. He is standing there with Jacqui at his side.

"Can you spare your big brother a dance?" He asks me.

"Sure I can." I say as I'm being released by Gil and handed over to Gar.

That leaves Jacqui all alone, but not for long, since Gil begins to swing her around. She looks tense at first, but soon she looses up. After a few dances we swap back to our respective significant others. Once both Gil and I happen to steal a glance at Gareth and Jacqui, we're witnesses to something so sweet: We witness the first public kiss by them, a looks that speaks volumes, and that is the highlights of that evening. It seems to me that my dear older brother is falling in love too.

The next day we head home back home to Las Vegas, leaving San Francisco and bad memories behind. We will only be coming back if we are to visit someone like our foster parents. Las Vegas will for now on be the only home for both Gareth and I, and we're really happy about that.

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**I finally got done with their San Francisco trip. More to come, since I have some greatideas to further storylines.**

**So how did I do?**


	24. Epilogue

**A/N 1: Once again my life caught up with me, so I didn't feel like writing much. This is a very smallEpilogue, I found power to get done, and the reasons is explained in the bottom of this.**

**POV: The author, as in me, Charlie. I'm wrapping the story up, because no one else, that would be the CSI characters, was able to do it.**

**Disclaimers: The ones owning every known CSI character would be the bosses at CBS. I still owe Gareth Sidle though.**

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**Epilogue:**

A few months flew by, with cases coming in from left and right, leaving the lab very busy. Gareth had settled into his new place and Las Vegas with ease, and had been out on job numerous times already. When he was away, Jacqui always missed him terribly, but she found an allied in Sara over missing him, and both for their own reasons: Sara missed her brother, already being used to having him there again, and Jacqui because she had fallen in love with Gareth Sidle already. He would return home shortly though, for a full week of vacation, so needless to say; both women looked forward to that.

Jacqui had also overcome being shy around her boss, but albeit that Grissom and she were on familiar terms now, it was always strictly buisness on the job. After hours it was something different, since Jacqui had spent time with both him and Sara outside the lab. As well as all of the other who knew about Grissom and Sara.

With the amount of time that Sara spent at Grissom's, she was almost living there, and their three months mark was coming up in a hurry. Both Sara and Gareth had recovered from the trip down the bad memory lane, and neither had had any more of the bad dreams.

As for Ecklie, he had seemed to be snooping around for a few days, looking at both Grissom and Sara as if he just knew. It was a few tense days for everybody, where Catherine had tried to find out, if he really knew, using her excellent sneaky skills, when it came to finding such things out. That even if she had to drag something out of the very head of the Lab. She had been able to report back, to the people who knew, that Ecklie didn't suspect a thing. After hearing that, everybody released the breath that they didn't know they had been holding, and then to celebrate they had dinner at a restaurant. Jacqui had of course been invited along, now that she was in the band of people who held the secret, about her boss and her friend being involved with each other.

All in all everything was good in their tight knitted CSI family.

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**A/N 2: This is the end for now. I so promise you a sequel sometime in the future, but I really don't know when. I am promising conclusions on a lot of things though when that happens. I just kind of got a bit bored with this, and need to push it away from me, in order to really start to get interested in it again. I'm sorry if I disappoint some of you, but this is what I need right now, so please bare over with me.**


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